The One Whom No One Knows
by benie-was-here-seconds-ago
Summary: Two different yet similar lives. One truth that holds them so close and yet so far apart. A situation that prevents true peace in all things; a guild that has found it even in the darkest of days. And a Piece that has all the answers of the worlds. This is The One Whom No One Knows. (1st AC X FT fanfic, I do not own both franchises.) [FF arc up! R&R - 8/8/2013]
1. Introductions

**A/N: Yo people! Yes, i was here seconds ago and you just missed me!(no, seriously, don't believe it because that's meant to confuse you) but yeah. This is my first ever Xover story and it involves the FT and AC canon! For me, i like to have an OC of one universe who basically lives in the canon of another and merge the two together and hopefully pull it off as canon filler. So, this is an AC character in FairyTail. You may see more little Xovers here and now with other universes like the One Piece saga and maybe some elements from other games. Insert disclaimer here (I do not own Assassin's Creed and FairyTail) and enjoy the fruits of my labour!  
**

**Yosh! Let's go!**

**l8eN3Dic7l**

**! #$%^&*()_+**

_My name is Ghost._

_I am an Assassin._

_My bloodline has been a member of the Assassin brotherhood for countless centuries and I am content to be a part of it. Since the start of our war with the Templars, we have toiled long and hard to restore peace and free will for the innocent humanity that we fight for._

_You, reader, may be confused at my words. No matter. Let me explain the history of the Assassin brotherhood since we entered Earthland._

_It was about a few years since the Pieces of Eden were first discovered from our original home in Edolas and we took them over the boundaries of Edolas into Eathland for safekeeping. Little did we know that our mortal enemies followed us closely and managed to steal the Pieces from our possession. The tables were turned in such a way that since that day countless generations ago, both sides have reached a stalemate._

_Since the first day here on Earthland soil, my bloodline set themselves aside from most of the order to chronicle our dealings with the Templars and to further improve ourselves exponentially. We immediately set work on writing down histories far beyond what the usual history books would tell you. As such, my ancestor acquired a book that was able to contain as much information as the human mind, which is to say a whole library full of information, if not more. _

_Slowly he began chronicling events down in the book, from his initiation into the order up until the time of his retirement from the mantle of the Assassin. He settled down and bore one son. That boy was taught the Creed since the day of his birth and learned how to deal an equal measure of justice to his enemies and to those who had wronged him._

_The first ancestor of mine realised that teaching his son, also another ancestor of mine, would prove difficult through the use of verbal word, so he sent him to train with other Assassins. The trainings proved little more than a real challenge and with that result, the second generation Assassin began to write a new section in the magically blessed book._

_This new section was on the techniques of the Assassin brotherhood, which taught many things ranging from how to walk to killing a target. Elaborate drawings always accompanied the articles that was trying to explain the techniques in great detail and as such, guaranteed success in every possible mission against the Templars._

_When his time as an Assassin had come to a close, the second generation Assassin had a son with his wife before passing the book to him. This cycle continued for many generations; each of my ancestors writing a piece of history as well as adding new articles concerning new techniques, weapons, almost anything under the sun and moon that would be useful to us Assassins. Every generation always had something to write, for every generation of my bloodline only produced one Assassin._

_You would probably wonder: Why is my name Ghost?_

_Ghost is an alias that has followed us through the Anima portal from Edolas. Because of the book, my bloodline has become more of a honed dagger being sharpened to its finest. Several scars line the blade's flat side, a sign that it has seen battle._

_And seen a long and bloody one at that._

_Only "Ghost" was selected by the Mentor to undertake missions that would easily kill a Master Assassin. The fact that the book had already taught us everything made us seem like true angels of death. As such, we were not selected often for various missions but from time to time, there would be a courier mission or the like in which we could observe the world once more through our eyes. Most of the Assassins do not know the existence of a "Ghost" within their ranks. Even we are kept a secret from most of our brothers and sisters in the order. My bloodline became known as the 'Ghost' bloodline; a shadow within the Assassin brotherhood._

_Now, I have been overlooked in my role as an Assassin, I have been repeatedly broken by my fellow Assassins, I have been severely wounded time and time again,_

_But I have become a true Ghost worthy of my bloodline and to the Assassin brotherhood._

_I am the one whom no one knows._

**xxXXXxx**

_Hello everyone!_

_My name is Mirajane._

_I am a mage of the guild Fairy Tail, well, WAS a mage of Fairy Tail for reasons that I am not willing to share with you yet. I'm still a part of it though!_

_I'm sure everyone has seen me __at least __once before. I'm one of the cover girls of the weekly Sorcerer magazine that hits the newsstands every Wednesday. I'm also Fairy Tail's resident barmaid and sneaky matchmaker! :D_

_Why am I writing this? Well, let's just say Master wanted me to keep a close eye on the guild when he's away like Natsu and Gray fighting each other or when someone wants to do a job from the request board… the list is long and I don't think I have the time to write them all down in here. _

_Since I did— wait, no, I'm not going to share with you now… Well, nothing much is happening these days since the Eisenwald incident and everyone seems to be doing odd jobs on their own. Erza seems to be benefitting from all this the most- did you know she brought back a huge horn before the Eisenwald incident? It's taking up a huge corner of the bar and I'm not going to be very pleased if she doesn't do something about it. :( _

_I wish I had my magic back though… life sometimes seems like hell without it. Sometimes I'm not able to support myself with the bar money that I'm making and Elfman can only do so many jobs… I feel kind of useless you know what I'm saying? Maybe I could do something about the horn in the corner…or stop Wakaba from trying to hit on me…or maybe get some more money to buy food when I get back home or for music lessons…the possibility is endless! BUT I'm stuck here behind this old bar with no form of recreation that I can look forward to__._

_I guess life's like that… _

_Cana's holding a barrel of beer at her table again… I'd better stop her before everyone else complains!_

_Got to go! Bye!_

**xxXXXxx**_  
_

_**Undisclosed place, underground.**_

A young man sat down on a lone mahogany table with an open book laid out in front of him and a quill in his right hand. He looked down at an empty page and began to think, before writing neatly in clear lines what he was writing about. The quill ran up and down in graceful and elegant strokes, sometimes sectioning several paragraphs of information to allow a space on the page for an illustration of what he was working on.

The eyes under his cowl were somewhat startling to see, given that he had only one remaining eye. His right eye had a purple pupil and his left was horribly scarred, white and blank. Behind these facial features was a full facemask that had no eyeholes nor was of thin fabric. The leather with the Creed insignia lightly stitched onto the facemask made sure that his face was covered at all times in all sorts of conditions and situations.

The hand that held the quill was worn with a fingerless glove that had red accents on a white and black base. The other hand was a metal alloy claw, as well as the metallic prosthetic running up to the shoulder joint. Neither glove nor sleeve covered the arm; not only because there was no need to but it was covered in defensive thorns save for the arm's underside. A hidden blade sat nestled in the forearm accompanied by a small but powerful gun that formed the bulk of his left forearm. The barrel ended in a small hole in the base of his palm. The hidden blade allowed the Assassin to wield it like a dagger due to the complexity of the inlaying mechanisms.

A door opened behind him to reveal another similarly dressed Assassin. The door creaking reverberated around the stone cold room and the sudden gush of wind from the door flickered the light from the candles that had decorated the room.

"You're needed for an assignment," said the Assassin.

"Who is it from?" a quiet, slow baritone voice asked in reply.

"Master Assassin Dina."

"I will be there in a minute," Ghost closed his book and began to arm himself up before meeting Master Assassin Dina. He took off his cloak before heading into a nearby room that was his personal armoury.

He approached a mannequin that held his Assassin robes for him. He took off his cowl and began wearing his robes slowly, remembering the pain that he had to go through to be able to be where he was today. He zipped up the robes, checking that he had a shirt underneath before turning to look at his back to see if the robe's two tails were fitted properly and covered his legs adequately. Seeing that he was satisfied with himself, he slipped on the hood over his head, the beak of it having an inverted Creed insignia stitched on it. Several belts that were used as sashes wrapped around his body before a messenger bag was slung across his slim body's back. Pouches were then attached to the sashes before being filled with ammunition and various hand bombs. He then strapped a particularly large pouch on his right thigh for trip wire bombs that complemented his dark coloured cargo pants that had more than a few pockets. Last to be worn were his shoes, thin soled and had an indent between the big toe and the other toes for better grip when running and climbing.

His weapons were well chosen: a Chinese rope dart with grappling hooks hung from his waist, followed by his personal parrying dagger being tied to a belt that was slung across his chest. Throwing knives were carefully placed all over his body; five were in their holsters that were tied to his right bicep, five were on the left side of his waist, five were tied to his left thigh and another five more lay hidden in his prosthetic arm. Last but not least, a long bow and quiver made up his arsenal and he finished off by filling the quiver with seven poison coated arrows.

He finished arming himself up before picking up the book and stashing it in his messenger bag before going to see Master Dina.

"That woman is one of the nicest people in the order…"

He walked out of his room and proceeded into the briefing room to see the Master Assassin Dina talking to one of the recruits before noticing him.

"If it isn't the disciple," she smiled.

"My lady Dina," Ghost bowed in greeting.

"Please, call me Dina," she gently told him, blushing slightly.

"You called for me?"

"Ah yes," she then turned around to face a table. "Recently, a mage from the guild of Fairy Tail killed a massive beast and took its horn as her trophy."

"A woman and a horn? What is the relation?" asked Ghost.

"The horn houses one of our important documents, a small diamond to be exact," she told him. "It is one of our Assassin's bloodline's heirlooms."

"Where do I go?"

"A town by the name of Magnolia."

"I shall leave now for the train station."

"I like that about you, you know that?"

"What about it?" Ghost inquired.

"You just find out what you're supposed to do and then you just…do it." Dina finished awkwardly.

"That is because I know what to do and how I plan to do it," he replied. Ghost began walking out the door and into the open city.

Finding the train station, he bought a ticket with some jewels that he had drawn from the bank and proceeded to board the train, taking a cabin that had comfortable seats.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Magnolia**_

"Master, we're out of food for the guild," lamented Mirajane from behind the bar. It had already been the fourth time this week.

"You can go and buy food from the markets by yourself," Master Makarov gently smiled at her. "Get a few people to help you carry the food back."

"What about the money for the food?"

"Hold on a sec," Makarov began fishing for jewels in his pockets, eventually taking out a bag that she estimated about twenty thousand jewels worth. She took the bag of money gratefully and scanned the guild hall, looking for anyone that could help her with her shopping.

Natsu and Gray were fighting as usual and Wakaba was just staring at her to notice anything except her nice body. As far as she knew, Erza and Lucy were out on a job to get the latter's rent money. Cana was already engrossed with her wine drinking to which Master Makarov had readily joined her a bit too heartily. Macao was out taking care of Romeo and Team Shadow Gear had a last minute matter to attend to. Reedus, Nab and Vijeeter were busily hanging out at their table over a few drinks while Laxus and the Raijinshuu clearly did not want to be disturbed.

"Has anyone seen Elfman?" Mirajane called across the hall.

"He went back home to rest," said Loki, who had just suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Could you help me?" Mira asked him but her question fell on deaf ears as Loki was being pulled away by several of the other female guild mates.

"I guess I have to go alone again this time," she sighed to herself rather dejectedly, her reaction a bit like a deflating balloon. She closed the bar and packed her things in her handbag before setting out of the guild house to do some marketing.

As she walked through the streets, people recognised her as the cover girl on the weekly Sorcerer magazine. Most of the people who recognised her were guys. They were undoubtedly smitten with her flowing white hair that ran down her back with her signature forward ponytail that stood up on her forehead. Her alluring and demure blue eyes only made her more desirable face all the more beautiful. Her curvy body was what made the men swoon over her; the dress that she always wore hugged her torso rather snugly.

Some of the men were shy while others were clearly brazen, immediately going forward to her to ask for dates and the like. She turned them down very gently before continuing on her way to the markets, arriving there with smile on her face as she prepared to greet stall owners from various different shops.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

Ghost had arrived at Magnolia station a little earlier than he expected alone. The journey here had been rather uneventful and the Assassin managed to be productive and finish the article he was writing in the book with careful attention to detail. The little brown book that he now was keeping inside his bag had the face of a demonic ghost splayed on the front cover. It did not look thick but rest assured, it was very, very, informative.

He slowly walked around the station to get more familiar with his surroundings before activating his sixth sense, or as it was more affectionately known, Eagle Sense.

Eagle Sense allowed the user to easily differentiate enemy from friend from target. The user would often see a dark bluish background that would enable him/her to see in the dark without any external aid. Enemies would be highlighted red, allies in blue and targets in gold. Points of interest were marked white. In addition, he could see through walls as well as track down targets that had already left the area that he was in a few minutes later.

With the Eagle Sense, he saw two women, one decked out in armour and the other clad in a simple white top and blue skirt, highlighted in gold; a redhead and a blonde respectively. He decided to follow them for a bit before going around Magnolia to synchronise himself with the town layout. He climbed a rather high building and looked around from his perch as he stood up on it to have a perfect view of the neighbourhood all around him. He leapt from his perch with arms outstretched before performing a flip so that he was falling with his back to the ground before landing in a sakura petal cart. He emerged out of it and met with a small market. Hunger immediately assaulted his stomach and he walked to one of the bakeries to buy a loaf of bread.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

_This is not making my life easier…_thought Mirajane.

One could tell that she was having extreme difficulty in carrying four bags worth of food and was now going to purchase one more bag before heading back to the guild house. She looked around for her favourite bakery, trudging slowly so as to not fall forward with her load.

That was until she walked into someone. One of the bags of food fell over and she resigned herself at the thought that it was just a stupid idea to go shopping all by herself. To her surprise, the person she walked into quickly and deftly caught the bag of food the right side up before taking a good look at her predicament of three other bags hiding her face.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

"I am sorry to have obstructed you," Ghost apologised with a nod of his head before realising that she could not see in front of her. All he could see was the porcelain white skin on her arms and a forward ponytail that held up white hair. Realising her plight, he then slowly proceeded to take one more bag from her.

"Let me help you," he offered, taking a bag from her.

"Thank you so much!" she replied. Ghost took a good look at her before realising who she was instantaneously.

"I have I seen you before?" he coyly asked her. She just smiled at him and shook her head in reply.

"I don't think we have," she spoke. To Ghost, her voice was light and sweet, like an angel. Not that he had ever met one before.

"Where were you off to?" asked the Assassin.

"The bakery."

"Ah," he gestured to the shop, "I was going there as well."

The two proceeded there and set the bags down on a nearby table, Ghost asking Mirajane to buy him a loaf of bread in which he would pay her back later while he took care of the groceries. He took out his book and began a new entry under the 'social' tab, writing about the guilds in whatever detail that he knew.

Without knowing it, she came back sooner than he had expected and saw him writing about the legal guilds as well as dark guilds.

"What's that?"

"A book that I am writing in," Ghost answered.

"What are you writing in?"

"An entry, nothing more," he closed the book rather quickly, causing her to be slightly suspicious of him. She then gave him the loaf of bread and took his payment. The both of them gathered up the food and shared the load equally between them before heading off to wherever her guild was located. Just as they got out of the market, Ghost noticed that a number of men were giving him odd stares. He ignored them, turning his attention to her.

"I forgot my manners back there," Ghost took a step beside her, making conversation.

"It's alright, it always happens," she smiled at him.

"If I may, what is your name?" the Assassin asked.

"You mean," she was taken aback by his question, "you've never heard of me before?"

"I may have," Ghost paused, "but I only remember names."

"Oh? Well…" she thought for a while, before cautiously answering, "Mirajane Strauss."

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Mirajane Strauss," he gave a slight nod of the head in acknowledgement.

"And you are?"

"Call me Ghost," he softly replied.

"What a curious name!" she remarked. The two turned left at a road junction and Ghost saw the gold trail that his two targets left behind in Eagle Sense and seeing the ghosts of the two targets chatting animatedly.

Unknowingly he began to walk slightly in front of her and she saw that his face was covered fully by a leather facemask.

"Your face! What happened to it?"

Ghost immediately slowed down to look at her before simply replying, "an animal attack did it."

"Did what?" she pressed him.

Ghost chose to ignore the question and the both of them made another turn down the street to see the guild Fairy Tail right at the end of it. He could tell even with her a quarter of a head shorter than him, she knew he was lying. Then again, it was too early in any relationship for such questions.

All he knew he was doing was to help her with her errands before attempting the assignment. Now he was helping one of his soon to be many targets in maintaining themselves before stealing back something of value that mattered little to him.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

_What is with this man? _Mirajane wondered. _No man that I have met has kept secrets from me like him! What is he hiding? And what is with that arm of his?  
_

She turned to look at him but she could not see beyond the facemask.

"What are you hiding?" she asked him.

"So you have noticed," he replied apologetically, "I am afraid I cannot tell you."

"Does it have to do with all the weapons that you're carrying?"

"Yes," he simply replied.

They reached the guild doors to see a brawl in progress, mainly fought by a large man with white hair, another with a pink haired fire mage, a semi-nude ice mage and the woman in armour that he had seen earlier.

Mirajane saw him look around the guild hall with keen eyes before asking him, "is something wrong?"

"Is your guild always like this?"

"Yes, pretty much," she smiled at him. The two waited for someone else to come and get the bags that Ghost was holding to no avail.

"How about you come in for a drink?" she asked him once more. He could see beads of cold sweat roll down her pretty face.

"Water?"

She nodded.

After a quick warning to him to avoid all manner of aggression, they darted in and out of the ever growing dust cloud that surrounded the brawlers to get to the bar on the other side. They set down the groceries and Mirajane quickly got two glasses of water for her and for the Assassin. He took the glass with thanks before she decided to sit next to him. A little toast followed.

"Cheers," she smiled to which he gave a slight nod. They downed the drink in one before she remarked.

"You don't talk much do you?"

Ghost nodded his head.

_Double confirmation, _she sighed. He looked around the guild hall once more.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

He found it.

He found the horn that he was supposed to get the heirloom from in Eagle Sense as he drank the water. He cautiously looked at the brawlers before turning to Mirajane and pointed at it, asking her a question.

"Where did you get that?"

"Hmm…" Mira seemed lost in her daydreams before snapping back into reality at the question. "Sorry?"

"The horn," he replied.

"One of the mages here brought back that stupid horn after completing a job request," she huffed.

"May I take a closer look at it?"

On her consent, he got up and walked towards his objective, looking around the horn for a mechanical release lever or button switch that would reveal what he had originally come to Magnolia for. Hands ran over the smooth surface before his flesh fingers met with a small bump along the side of the horn. He pushed it.

Nothing happened. So, he tried again by twisting it.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

Suddenly, the whole guild hall was filled with an eerie, blue light. Mirajane looked to the source and found that the Assassin had fiddled with Erza's trophy and opened it, revealing a diamond the size of her head and held the most magnificent lustre that she had ever seen. The whole guild turned to look at the man before fixing their gaze on him.

"Who is this?" roared Erza. Ghost, she could see, immediately made for the door, stashing the diamond in his bag and the knight hot at his heels, along with Natsu and Gray.

The way that Ghost ran was…interesting.

Realising that he was going to be blocked by Macao and Wakaba along the main route out, Ghost started climbing onto the tables, leaping to and fro and soaring above the guild member's heads. Then, he leapt high in the air before twisting his body in such a way that a sword casually sailed past him in mid-air before landing on the ground with a roll and a well-timed slide under a table to have the way to the front door clear of all obstacles.

Save for one.

"Freed!" Laxus shouted at him and said person cast the runes instantaneously. Mirajane saw that Ghost was almost out of the doors before quickly braking but not hard enough to crash headfirst into an invisible wall, falling down on his back rather clumsily.

Erza walked up to the man on the ground and pointed her sword at him.

"How did you know to get a diamond from within the horn?"

No response.

"Answer me!"

Still no response. Erza drove the sword into the floorboard beside his head but he did not move a single inch. When she let go of the sword's handle, a thick black cloud engulfed the guild.

Mirajane could not see amidst the smokescreen and heard numerous coughs as a silent shooting sound ensued and the cry of the Fire Dragon Slayer rang out before being muffled.

Jet cleared the smoke immediately with his speed and everyone looked around to see the Assassin holding a well sharpened dagger at Natsu's neck.

"Natsu!" several of the guild members cried. Natsu struggled but was unable to make a move for fear of his life.

"I propose a challenge between you and Erza!" Master's voice announced to Ghost before anyone else could say anything.

Mirajane saw Ghost's reaction.

He just simply nodded.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

"If I win, you must give me back the diamond and never come back here again!" shouted Erza across the sparring circle that Freed set up.

"Isn't that…a bit too extreme?" the jaws of the guild dropped at her demand. It also did not help that Ghost was only at a table next to hers where he laid his weapons neatly, choosing only his left arm to spar with her. He looked at her weapons to see that she had taken more than four tables while he only took half while a bikini-top-clad-with-barrel-of-wine-in-hand bookie by the name of Cana took the empty half of his table and used it to record bets for the fight.

"What about you?" asked Cana as he laid his secondary blade down.

"I get to have Mirajane Strauss for twenty four hours from whenever I choose," he replied.

"That's too much!" the guild roared in protest. Ghost stayed silent, betting a jewel on Erza's success. Mirajane felt a bit uneasy at his wager.

"Really?" Cana teased, only to receive a quick, piercing glance from him.

"If all wagers and bets have been placed, will the contenders please step in!" shouted Max Alors, a fine sand mage who worked part time as an announcer. Both Erza and Ghost stepped into the ring, Erza drawing her short sword while Ghost drew his hidden blade and held it backwards; his favourite grip.

"As such, no blood will be drawn and no magic will be utilised," said Max. "If you are ready, FIGHT!"

Erza quickly bounded forward with her sword primed for a thrust through Ghost. The Assassin had been in this situation before. He simply withdrew his hidden blade before sidestepping her, catching her behind around the abdomen and throwing her backwards onto the ground. She came at him with a swipe but was easily dodged and met with a palm to the face. She reeled back after the attack to revaluate her deceptively deft opponent.

She tried for a quicker attack, only to meet his palm with her face. The next of flurry of attacks were no different either. The Assassin just casually dodged and provoked her to commit a mistake.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

"He's good," commented Gray to Mirajane. She knew what he was talking about.

Ghost was able to keep up with Erza's lightning quick attacks with relative ease while doing nothing but push her away or slap her in the face. She could see that every movement and strike was well controlled and not once did she see him block the knight's sword at all. Could the Assassin really win this?

Erza was tired of this, she could tell. The attacks from Erza were now all concentrated on delivering pure brute force. It did not matter about the diamond anymore.

_Hmm…_Ghost thought to himself after seeing that his opponent was tiring out and fatigued. The last stroke had met with the dirt and refused to budge afterward. He slowly drew his hidden blade out once more, prepared for her last attack.

Without thinking, she charged at him with recklessness.

_Bingo._

The Assassin caught the knight around the abdomen after sidestepping her. He raised her legs up in the air before falling backwards, using her as a cushion and knocking the wind out of her lungs, as well as effectively ending the fight.

It was very clear who the winner was as one was standing straight with no signs of fatigue while the other was on the ground in a foetal position moaning in pain.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

"Erza…lost?" quavered Natsu.

Mirajane was also in shock. In fact, the whole guild was. No one would have thought that Erza would have lost to an outsider. There was no question about it; he had clearly won, there was no doubt.

"No way," gaped Max. No one could come to terms with a knocked out Erza on the ground.

The Assassin walked over to Mirajane and gave her a bow saying, "I will come for you. Please be ready."

She just nodded her head in response as Ghost made his way out of the guild compound and off to where he was supposed to go.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

Back on the train, Ghost took out the book and aptly wrote a word on the cover.

_Codex._

Then he wrote another entry in the article bearing his real name and the year he was born, careful not to omit details that would disadvantage Assassins that would come after him in the bloodline. He wrote about the use of magic in conjunction with combat and penned his thoughts as such:

_I met with a legal guild today on an assignment. I never knew about how mages fight with the aid of magic while we Assassins fight with skill and wit alone. It proves a disadvantage under certain circumstances but having a chance to wield magic and skill in both hands would definitely be useful for times such as these. _

_How does one acquire magic? Is one born with it or can it be attained through various processes? I do not know the answers to my question, save for the sole argument of the usages of lacrima. Magic is everywhere, yet nowhere at once._

_But there is a saving grace in today's harrowing events so far. I have yet to see if what I have just written is true…_

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

_My life has taken a turn for the worse…I think._

Mirajane ran a hand through her white hair and sighed behind the bar. She then folded her arms and looked around the almost empty guild hall. Most of the members had already gone home, including her brother.

It was the end of the day and she was tired from the day's events, especially with that man.

_Ghost, wasn't it? What does he work as? What is his magic? He said he would come for me but when? _A smile began to form on her lips slightly, thinking about him.

She proceeded to begin sweeping the floor of all the dust that was kicked up earlier by Natsu and Gray before heading back to the bar to wipe the glasses and put them in the freezer. However, her mind continued to wander off towards the mysterious man she had only recently met, causing the rate of her chores to become ever slower.

By the time she realised that she was almost done with chores, the clock struck midnight. The cuckoo clock chimed loudly, snapping Mirajane out of her thoughts. She looked up in shock and set down the plates that she had been drying in a rather dreamy state.

_I must be really tired…_

She then heard footsteps from the guild's main entrance; heavy, sure-footed and quiet. Concentrating on the last plate, she shouted, "the guild is not open!" while still eyeing the fine details and rubbing out the small specks of dirt on the plate. The footsteps grew closer and she repeated herself once more, this time with slightly more aggression.

"I know," came a quiet voice.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

Ghost smirked behind his mask as Mirajane looked up to see him approach the bar. She was taken aback by his sudden appearance and almost dropped the plate she was cleaning. He knew how hard she worked the bar day after day to accommodate the needs of her guild before herself. Seeing the woman tirelessly take care of her duties, he saw her keep the plate and bade his greeting.

"Miss Mirajane Strauss," he gave a bow to her as he addressed her properly. He heard her give a girly giggle. Looking up, she saw that the woman had extended her hand across the table top and Ghost took it, brushing it with the mouth region of his facemask.

"Please, call me Mira," she giggled from the tickle of his mask.

"A pleasure, Mira," he replied. "Charmed, truly."

"Why thank you!" she curtseyed with a rather clumsy grace that made her trip over her heels, causing her to fall to the ground. The Assassin leapt over the table to help her up as gentlemanly as any Assassin could. Her face blushed with the colour scarlet as she held his right hand to get up.

"Are you alright?" he made sure she was fine before waiting for her to get her things before leaving the guild for home.

"Ghost, why are you here now?" she asked him as the two of them exited the guild, Mira locking the door behind them.

"I have come to collect my wager," he told her.

"Why now? Why not tomorrow?"

"I have seen many things about your guild today," replied Ghost, "peaceful and relaxed are neither of them. Although Fairy Tail is a loud and boisterous guild that always shares the fun between its fellow members, all I saw earlier today was a hardworking woman giving food to people and ensuring the welfare of the guild.

"I think she needs a little break from all that."

"But the guild-"

"The guild can take care of itself, Mira," he cut her off, "I am sure the lovely barmaid at this highly esteemed guild would love to have a day off but first, she needs to rest."

"Are you sure this is alright?" she asked him. "What about clothes for tomorrow?"

"We will go to your home to get you your clothes and then we will set off for Port Hargeon," Ghost revealed his plan to her.

"Hargeon? How are we going to get there in the middle of the night?"

The Assassin gestured a hand towards his mode of transport which turned out to be a scrambler motorbike. In cautious excitement, she quickly got on the bike before Ghost, waiting for him before they rode off, Ghost following the path that Elfman walked on his way home with the use of Eagle Sense.

Once outside her house, she stepped in quietly and packed a bag of clothes and came out soon after. A few minutes later, the both of them were outside of Magnolia and cruising down the road south towards Port Hargeon.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

_Can I really trust this man? I don't even know his real name to begin with…_

The bike was casually gaining on Port Hargeon every few minutes and Mira began to fell sleepy. Ghost must have known, for he kept one hand on the bike handle and used his other hand to draw her body closer to him and wrapping her arms around his torso, allowing her to sleep on his back.

As she laid her head down on his back by the arrow quiver she dreamily asked him, "Will you ever tell me your real name?"

"Vergil. Vergil Teivel from the East."

_I never expected him to give his name so easily…What does he want from me? It cannot be that he is so nice just because of my plight within the guild, but can he?_

"I must ask something from you," asked Ghost as the port city came into view.

"What is it?"

"Please only use my name when we are alone," he kindly asked her.

"Such a strange request, why?"

"I only give my real name to those that I trust with my life," he replied.

"Isn't that a figure of speech?"

"It is literal. No one else other than you and I can only know my name," the man heaved a sigh at this fact.

The two of them entered town. It was already in the wee hours of morning when they entered the port. Ghost rode on until he found a beachfront house that he had owned. He fished the house keys from his bag and graciously welcomed the tired mage into his temporary home.

"The sleeping quarter is upstairs, please make yourself at home, Mira," Vergil welcomed her into his home. He took her bag and carried it upstairs after her.

Once upstairs, she saw that he had made the entire second floor into his room. The room was well organised; a quarter of the room was filled with at least four shelves filled to the brim with books, a single bed lay by the window that opened up a magnificent view of the sea, a study table sat exactly in the centre of the room and the remaining section was filled with blueprints of weapons of all kinds, giving her a peek into this man's life. A door just beside the stairs revealed the bathroom and she got out her pink nightdress and washed up for bed. She closed the bathroom door as she prepared to take a shower.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Vergil**_

Vergil removed his clothes except for his pants and waited at his study table for Mira to finish up when he realised one thing.

He only had one bed.

He silently cursed himself for not thinking ahead in terms of the minute detail and resigned himself to the fact that he would most likely sleep on the hard parquet floor tonight for a few painful hours at the very least. That issue would have to be solved later since Mira was in bathroom taking a shower.

The Codex was now in front of him and he began to write neatly into his own personal section the day's events and the fact that he was helping out another person directly instead of the Order's discreetness when it came to helping out in some small way. It was a small thing that he could do as to not feel so unappreciated compared to the other Assassins who went on regular assignments.

That was when she exited the bathroom smelling nice and looking innocently sultry. He suddenly found it hard to breathe and he clutched his chest with his left hand, slightly scratching it. He coughed in excuse as she looked at his face in concern.

"Your face! What happened?" Mira asked him.

"What about my face?"

"That scar! What happened to you?" she walked over to him and held his head with her gentle hands before her thumb ran along the scar that ran from his temple to his jaw on the left side of his face, over his blind eye.

"It was a training accident," he held her hands, taking them away from his face. She then directed questions at him about his arm. He gave the same reason before she could not figure out what occupation in the world would make him so lethal and scarred.

"You should rest," Vergil avoided the question before heading to the bathroom to also freshen up for bed.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

_It cannot be that Vergil would just have a—_ Mira was cut off by her own eyes as she saw the book that she had seen Vergil write in yesterday while she was shopping for groceries. She went over to the study table and saw that he had written in it only recently.

Curiosity got the better of her as she took the book and laid herself on the bed, turning to the first page to read whatever information that the book held.

It was empty. She turned the book over to read 'Codex' on the cover before turning the book back to try and decipher it. She flipped a page and like the first, it was empty.

_It can't be – he wrote something in there that I clearly saw! Where is that particular page? I'm sure that there were accompanying drawings to go with it as well!_

She turned the book upside down to no avail before verbally commanding the book to show its contents. Then, she heard the bathroom door open but she ignored it, trying to read the book for all its worth.

"You are not able to read it, are you?" Vergil asked her. She held out the book to him and a smile appeared across his face.

"Old man's advice still rings true," the man said. Mira was getting rather upset that he casually passed her off over a book. Vergil knew what he did for he gently took the book from her hands and placed it back at its designated place on the study table.

"Why can't I read the book now?"

"Because of my occupation," he replied. He heaved a sigh.

"What are you?"

"I am an Assassin," his shoulders slumped down as he turned away from her gaze.

**xxXXXxx**

_**Mirajane**_

"You're a-a-a what?" she stammered.

"An Assassin," Vergil knew that what he said would make her time with him enjoying some down time become unenjoyably unpleasant. "I assassinate people and I get paid for it."

"You're a killer? Who have you killed?"

"Several dark guilds are gone because of me and there are corrupt officials that have fallen under my blade," Vergil told her, all in his own reason. He explained the Assassin's guild in a brief summary before handing her the Codex.

"The book can wait tomorrow but your sleep cannot wait," said Vergil. He lay himself on the cold hard floor and saw that she gave him a look of confusion mixed with a hint of spite before laying back on his bed.

_I am sorely misunderstood. All my life I have only known one thing which is to assassinate my enemies. This war that I have been unwillingly pulled into has caused me to lose my humanity. This life chose me; I did not choose it and my reward for it is a lifetime of hardship, pain and loss._

_I try to regain back what little of my humanity is left for freedom's sake even though the freedom of humanity is what I fight for. No one else except the Assassins and the Templars know about this secret war that has lasted us countless millennia._

_Why is my life like this… only a nineteen year old boy who has matured too far beyond his years—_

"Wait," Mira interrupted his thoughts, "you are nineteen?"

"Did I say all that out loud?" Vergil's face blushed heavily, initially unaware of how his thoughts would print themselves on the tip of his tongue.

"I'm like you," she said. She motioned for him to come up onto the bed and sleep comfortably beside her, to which he did.

Vergil then found out that he was only older than her by a few days. The both of them were in awkward silence before Mira hugged him unexpectedly and rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

"Hold me Vergil," her soft gentle voice said to him, "I'm cold."

Vergil complied with her wish and realised that her skin was soft, smooth and silky to the touch. He smelled her hair and it was…for a lack of a better word, nice.

"Vergil?"

"Yes?"

"Your left arm is poking me."

"I am sorry," Vergil quickly removed his left arm from her body and then closed his eyes to finally fall asleep.

**xxXXXxx**

**XXxxxXX**

_What dream is this?_

Mira's dream was slowly turning into a nightmare. In that dream, she saw the guild building being impaled with iron rods and Team Shadow Gear being hung up on a tree with the Phantom Lord guild insignia imprinted on their bodies. Then a war erupted between the two guilds and a white figure standing above the conflict, watching everything unfold on his perch on top of the highest buildings.

A leap that would surely kill him but did not, and a weapon that drove fear into the hearts of many enemies and allies alike.

What could all this in her nightmare mean for her and her guild?


	2. Phantoms & Fairies, Templars & Assassins

_**Mirajane**_

_It has already been a few days since we were attacked by Phantom Lord. Erza has decided to split us up into smaller groups so as to distract the enemy guild from attacking us as a whole. We know it is risky but it is something the guild cannot help. Since Master's sudden downfall, we have been kept in low spirits and we do not know what Porlyusica-san has done to restore his magic._

_Of the Phantoms that take pleasure in grieving us, the worst of these is Gajeel, the Iron Dragon Slayer. He is the one responsible for destroying the guild and harming Shadow Gear. There is nothing much that we can do without Master's guidance and Erza is keeping us on the defensive should anything happen to any one of us._

_We do not have many resources to fight back anyway or anyhow, and the fact that our numbers are not as great as theirs has greatly affected our morale as a guild. At least we are still together as Fairy Tail._

_In my home with me are Elfman, Laki and Cana. _

_Currently, we are doing what we can to prepare ourselves for Phantom Lord's next attack with research and tactics but none of us here have ever studied the battlefield like a clandestine killer on a mission. _

_I hope everyone else is alright._

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_We did not see this coming._

_Crocus has been attacked by the Templars and we have no means to stop or slow their advance._

_The Assassins in Crocus have been broken apart and the Templars continue their mission to annihilate our existence here._

_Their numbers are too great and the weapons that they wield have been sharpened by skilled hands. Even with our skill, the numbers would not work in our favour. _

_Eugene has ordered that everyone split up to draw attention away from themselves and has requested that we escape in retreat to safe houses across the region and stay low. The Den leader never had much common sense but it did open my eyes to see that our enemy had been actively recruiting new members._

_Safety of the others come first, but with this situation, I doubt anyone of us will look out for each other. If only we had the foresight to see all this that was happening in the dark…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Crocus**_

Ghost watched unscathed from a nearby rooftop down onto the massacre that had only transpired a few hours ago. His gaze rested on the sight of the burning Assassin den in the poorer, rural district of Crocus, capital of Fiore, home of the reigning monarch Augustus VII. Templars were torching this crucial den with no mercy and killing all the Assassins that they could see on sight.

The Ghost knew that only the highly experienced Assassins would ever hope to possibly leave the carnage wounded at best while he saw countless young recruits being slaughtered in front of his eye. There was nothing that he could do to stop the attack given that the enemy had gotten stronger, bigger and tougher than he had remembered.

As well as a bit too clumsy for his liking.

_So these are the new brutes that Eugene had warned me about… Big. But they are not invincible or skilled however, _he thought to himself.

In a flash, his codex was in his hand and he made notes about the new enemy archetype. Writing a full entry would most likely kill him; he would have to clean up his sketches and notes later.

Once done, he made for the next rooftop, heading for the city exit as soon as he could to warn the Crocus headquarters about the loss of the rural district, which had been the last standing den inside the walls of Crocus city. There were no archers posted on the rooftops, giving the Assassin less obstacles to deal with before he heard a shriek coming from the streets below. He skidded to a halt and peered over the ledge to watch Eugene the den leader being eviscerated by one of the new Brutes.

Only this Brute was more heavily armoured than the others who had surrounded him. He held a giant war hammer and swung it with perfect ease at several civilians who had failed to get out his way, killing them and painting the slums with splattered blood. The knife at his side was heavily ornate with rare jewels and precious stones, making it heavy and causing a great deal of damage to those who would have gone well within the range of the hammer. Clearly visible was the Templar cross that was burned into the side of his head.

"No one opposes the path of Nandi the Berserker! All who do shall perish!" screamed the armoured Brute.

Ghost took note of the man before spotting an opening in his armour. It was small but it was sufficient enough for the Assassin on high.

_Not now, I need to find out what he is up to._

The Assassin followed the small entourage and noticed that Nandi was occasionally sending scouts ahead to make sure that no one stood in his way. There were no breaks for the Brutes and the heavy armour that protected them well would only tire them out more easily.

Eventually, Nandi had no choice but to allow his entourage of Templar Brutes to stop and rest, choosing a small square with a fountain adorning it. The group sat down and began drinking the flowing water.

_Nandi the Berserker; this man is utterly useless._

Ghost looked around for an easier way to get across the square without being noticed by the Templars below. Seeing that there was only a cable across, he took his chance and positioned himself over Nandi the Berserker. The Berserker did not care to take a proper look at his surroundings as he stood up before something landed on him and a sharp blade pierced his throat, his life having been only taken away from him by force. He fell down on his back to see the white hood that he had grown to hate all his life.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_Memory Corridor_

"It seems that I have been slain by your hand, Assassin," Nandi spat the last word out of spite. His body lay down on the ground in a white area while the Assassin stood over his body, his facemask looking down at his face.

"It seems that way, Nandi," the Assassin replied.

"Why, why?" the Templar pressed.

"What does killing innocents have to do with the freedom of the world?" Ghost asked him.

"We only strive for a new world order where there will only be the strong," Nandi began coughing profusely.

"If there was a world where only the strong lived, would you accept the fact that your many children would become just as scarred and ugly like you?" the Assassin tested his nerves.

"You make fun of me…" the dying man growled before breathing his last.

"Variety is the spice of life," Ghost told the dead man, crouching down to take the ornate short blade before turning around to meet the remaining Brutes with his dagger and hidden blade.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

Mirajane looked out of her room window towards the direction of Fairy Tail to be reminded that the guild was pierced with numerous iron poles, rendering the guild beyond repair. Sighing, she got up from her table and headed to the sitting room to see Cana reading a book, her brother Elfman looking slightly down and Laki having a map, pen and paper in front of her. Mira looked at the clock to see that the time was half past ten in the morning.

She proceeded to the kitchen to prepare lunch for her guild mates, taking out a few bowls with ingredients and condiments. She began to cook, Elfman entering the kitchen attracted to the irresistible smell that assaulted his senses.

"Elfman," Mirajane warned him to stay away from the food. "I'm cooking."

"Yes onee-san," the big man stopped in his tracks before he could get some fragrant rice.

Mira smiled, knowing that Elfman would most likely respect her wishes but try to have his way at least for a little while. When he thought she was not looking, he swiped a small piece of teriyaki chicken into his mouth.

Without a second thought, he ran out of the kitchen for fear of his life.

She let out a chuckle and continued to prepare lunch, which was done at 11 o' clock. The four of them gathered around the dining table after Mira had finished serving the food.

"_Itadakimasu,_" the other three thanked Mira for preparing lunch. They ate their meal in silence, with the occasional conversation of the guild.

"Mira, you remember that creep about two weeks ago?" Cana asked her with her mouth full.

"Who are you talking about?"

"The man in that funny white hood," Laki explained.

"That man? He's not even MAN!" Eflman roared.

"Him?" Mira asked for confirmation to which she immediately received. "What about him?"

"He took you out, right? Where did he take you?"

Mira knew that this question would arrive sooner or later regardless of the time and place (besides Fairy Tail). She had been very skilful in avoiding the question all week from countless guild members and had refused to give any hints of the day that she spent with Vergil, the Assassins' "Ghost". For those who had been very persistent, Erza being among them along with Natsu and her brother, she gave very cryptic answers, throwing off the curious and the hasty. The guild knew better than to irritate her but as friends, this was a certainly tough position to be in.

"He took me to Port Hargeon," Mirajane cautiously spoke.

"What did he do to you?" Elfman inquired.

"He made me feel like I am special," the thought of that particular day's activities brought a smile to her face. Everyone around the table noticed the slight blush on her cheeks.

"Oooh," Cana playfully cooed. "What's he like?"

"He's not what people make him out to be and he's very thoughtful," Mira began telling them all about his good points and purposefully missing out his occupation as an Assassin.

"Sounds like a good catch, Mira-san," Laki giggled.

"What? No! It's not like that!" said Mira, exasperated at the train of thought that was forming.

"Who is this person? I will hunt him down like a MAN!" Elfman roared at the comments his sister made about some random dude who managed to defeat Erza in a one on one battle.

"Sheesh," Cana scoffed at his attitude, "no need to be so violent about it. Real men don't fight as much as fools do."

"Please, it's not that kind of relationship," Mira cut in. "We're just friends."

"Whatever you say," the two other girls shrugged in unison and continued to eat.

"Onee-san, how is it that he makes you feel special while we know you are so important to us?" Elfman asked her, his mind deep in thought.

"Just finish your food and then help me wash the dishes, okay?" Mirajane managed to change the subject successfully.

After lunch and the washing of plates, Mira went to her room and closed the door, ensuring privacy for herself.

_What is this feeling I have when I think of Vergil? Is it infatuation? I can't possibly fall in love with a killer! No, maybe he can find true love with one of the faeries in Fairy Tail; maybe him and Cana? I cannot possibly love him, what if he doesn't love me back? Leading him to someone else would ease my conscience a bit. I should start writing letters to him…_

Mira sat down on the dressing table and found a small piece of paper and a pen. She began to write the main body of the letter, missing out the salutation and wrote about how she would like Ghost to go on a date with Cana.

She was about to finish that part of the letter when Laki knocked on the door to reveal a message from Erza that was passed on from Levy stating that to prepare for another Phantom Lord attack, the guild should read up a little bit more on the enemies and their tactics and took seats on the couch in the sitting room with the coffee table covered in books and began to read.

Mira placed the unfinished letter beside her, not knowing that unwanted eyes were reading the gist of its contents.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Crocus**_

The Assassins' "Ghost" knew that the hideout would most likely be full of wounded recruits and Assassins, so he decided to walk around for a bit, hiding in plain sight from the Templars by using the crowds to his advantage. He was mingling around with the crowd when he felt someone brush past him too suddenly and quickly.

Ghost immediately gave chase to the thief who had taken his trophy. He thief ran well but was soon aided by several others in plain clothes although they each sported a rather peculiar mark on their bodies. The Assassin gave chase all the way to the outskirts of the city to find a rather run down building full of the creeps.

The Assassin turned around, knowing that the building belonged to a dark guild of mages. He knew better than to pick a fight alone, so he waited outside, unaware that he was being watched by another man who, like himself, had hidden his appearance head to toe.

The two of them spotted each other and the other man drew five staves that floated around him, each one with magical power. The Assassin unfurled his rope dart and prepared for a fight.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" the other man called.

"It is none of yours" Ghost coldly replied.

"I don't want this to turn ugly. State your business now!"

"No."

The staves immediately shot out and a magic circle began to form underneath the Assassin. Ghost rolled to safety, cancelling the magic spell that was cast and rendering it useless. Ghost then shot the rope dart at his opponent with precision and speed but the attack was rendered useless through the sudden use of mist; the Assassin quickly withdrawing it for another counterattack.

"Sacred song!" a voice cried out, the same one that Ghost had been anticipating. The Assassin utilised a smoke screen bomb, engulfing himself in darkness and using his Eagle Sense to find out where his opponent was, using the rope dart and striking the man in the chest before rolling out of the way of five magic circles and a concentrated beam of purple light. The magical attack created a small crater in the ground.

"You're good," commented the man.

"You are not bad yourself," Ghost replied.

"Skyscraper!"

Ghost was not able to react in time. He was quickly vaulted high up in the air before being restrained by four belts that appeared out of nowhere. Then a demonic being appeared and began to grab him.

Ghost was too busy thinking about the name of the spell to even bother about the demon closing his fingers on him.

"An illusion," the Assassin whispered. The demon disintegrated but it was long enough for Ghost's opponent to prepare the next attack.

"Sacred Song!"

The beam of light struck Ghost's being and he felt excruciating pain course through his body. When the attack had completed, the Assassin was seen kneeling on the floor, his stamina and tolerance for pain trying to cope with this level of magic that had he had never experienced before.

"You're strong," said the man. "My name is Mystogan."

"I am known as Ghost," the Assassin returned the greeting, "What guild are you from?"

"Fairy Tail."

"Mira mentioned you a couple of times," Mystogan extended a hand to help him up.

"I am sure she did. That guild member there," the Assassin pointed to a particular woman who still held that trophy dagger in her hands, "she stole that dagger from me and got the rest of her guild to join her as well. I plan to teach them a lesson to never mess with Assassins."

"That guild is a branch of Phantom Lord," Mystogan explained. "I'm here to recover back what my master lost."

"What say we team up together?"

"Sure," Mystogan smiled behind his mask.

Ghost drew his parrying dagger and his hidden blade as Mystogan readied his staves before the both of them charged forward like leaves blowing in the wind.

Following the destruction of the Phantom Lord branch, both men bade each other goodbye and Ghost began heading back to Hargeon in the early afternoon.

_This is one flaw that we Assassins have: we disregard magic as a cheapskate way to triumph over our enemies easily and this has led to the loss of one of our most strategic strongholds in Fiore. Now that the Templars have successfully captured Crocus, Augustine VII will soon be replaced by one of their agents, much less one of their own inner circles. All legal guilds will fall under the command of the Templars, effectively recruiting them to root out the Assassins once and for all from Fiore and Earthland if we do not do anything about it. _

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

"Mira, what book is that? You have been reading it for the past two hours since lunch!" Cana looked at her, concerned about the eagerness to prepare for an attack from Phantom Lord. She peeked a look at the front cover to see her reading a spell book.

"Spells of Dark Elements and Destruction?" Laki peered in front of Mira to also take a look at what she was reading. "What are you reading this for?"

"You'd never know what may happen when Phantom Lord suddenly decides to attack," Mira explained her decision to read this particular book.

"But aren't those spells illegal to cast with those kinds of magic?" Elfman gave an inquisitive look over the article that he was studying.

"Our two guilds have gone past the point of reconciliation," Mira lamented.

"What about this?" Laki held up a piece of paper that Mirajane recognised immediately.

"Give that back!" a flushed Mira reached for the unfinished letter but was too slow as Laki pulled the letter out of her reach to let Cana read.

"Mira the matchmaker?" Cana raised her eyebrows, demanding a reason for her chosen words that she had penned down. "Who is this addressed to?"

"None of your concern!"

"Is it that guy? I'll hunt him down like a MAN!"

"Enough!" Mira shouted. The room immediately died down before she continued to speak. "This isn't about me! Will you please stop bugging me with these questions about my life when we should be concentrating on the threat to our guild?"

"We should take a break from all this reading and prepare dinner, Onee-chan," Elfman suggested.

"Alright, but only after I learn sleep magic and use it on these two," she cast the two other females a death glare to which they realised that they had made her upset and were never going to get away with their little stunt on Matchmaker Mira.

"We're so screwed," whispered Cana fretfully.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Hargeon**_

Ghost opened the door of his beachfront house in haste before dashing upstairs, getting a duffel bag and packing some of his most treasured items into as well as some clothes. Several books on the principles of magic and of lost magic went into the duffel bag as well. A small toolbox was sent soaring with perfect precision into the bag moments later and the last of the items that were being packed were his toiletries and some bandages along with several bottles of ointment and solutions.

He then left his house open as he left, leaving his home to the wind and to the good natured people of the town as he set off on foot towards Magnolia.

_The Templars must not know who I am or what I have become… A single hit would definitely throw me back into the fray with added danger. This is my own journey from here for the benefit of the Assassin's Creed. I would not know what to do if anyone were to be unwillingly dragged into this ageless war over innocent lives._

_Then again, it would have been better if I left this life… by then I would have extreme difficulty in settling down and finding a non-lethal job because the only thing I know how is to assassinate and kill with cold, cruel efficiency._

He immediately set down the path northward towards Magnolia, not even knowing why he was headed there in the first place. His mind was too busy on staying alive and shaking off the Templars that he remembered to clean up his notes for the new enemy archetype in his codex. He wrote as he walked alone, still fully aware of his surroundings despite the setting sun to the west. He encountered many people rushing to get to their way home from the port to their villages, some offering him a ride to the furthest point that they could bring him on their journey.

He kindly declined, continuing to write more on that particular article in his codex and waving them a casual goodbye, not looking up from his book.

…_these Brutes have been known to be adaptively strong in the face of numerous adversaries but are also slow and vulnerable to quick and deft opponents. These giants are known to throw no heed to warnings but will easily bend to the will of their commanding officer. Weak points in their armour include the joints, the helmet visor and the neck guard. This is one of the many—_ Vergil stopped his writing for something else had taken the writing space that he had wanted to use.

_~MIRA WAS HERE~_

"What?!" Ghost almost swore out loud to himself. The fact that someone else had managed to find a way to read the book was near impossible but writing in it was just asking for trouble. The worst part was that it was written in ink, which greatly irritated him. As far as he knew, none of his female ancestors had ever written anything as disturbingly cute as this in a highly informative book meant for the next Assassin after the current generation.

He sighed, starting a new paragraph while entering a nearby village for dinner and some food for the rest of his journey to Magnolia as the sun slid below the horizon.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

Her wrath was not something to mess around with, even with her ever serene smile and demure nature.

Cana and Laki now lay spread eagle on the ground due to the fact that Mira had beaten them senseless with a rolling pin before casting sleep magic on the both of them before proceeding to eat dinner.

So, only the two Strauss siblings ate dinner that very day in the Strauss's residence, while the guests had to contend with only bread and water due to the fact that they had angered the eldest Strauss over a sensitive subject that was not meant for them to know.

"Onee-chan, I think you went a little too overboard with the punishment," Eflman scratched the back of his head uneasily.

"Do you want to be next?" Mira smiled threateningly at him with eyes full of dark intent.

Elfman cowered in fear at her gaze and pleaded that she would spare him.

"What are you not supposed to do?" Mirajane tested his knowledge of the situation.

"Never to read your letters and let you keep your privacy?"

"Good," Mira returned back to her usual self as if nothing happened and turned to face the couch before walking over to it and taking the unfinished letter and the book that she had been reading earlier.

She then proceeded to her room and closed the door as she took a glance at the bedside clock.

A quarter to eight.

She opened her book and sat down at the bedside table before flipping to a random page. Her eyes opened in curiosity at the spell that met her eyes.

"Abyss Break?" Mira whispered to herself. "It needs mages who can control the four elements: Water, Earth, Air and Fire."

She continued to read more about the spell and its effects, horrified about the after effects.

The spell struck a fearful chord within her, knowing full well that four elemental mages of Phantom Lord were known as the Element 4 not for any other reason that was not obvious. She closed the book immediately and decided to retire for the night after forty five minutes of intense study of the spell.

She got out her nightclothes and prepared to take a shower, knowing that none of the girls were too busy asleep to go and wash up for bed. Following the shower, she put on a coat and wore her slippers to head out to the nearby convenience store to buy some strawberry jam, butter and milk to make up for the lack of food that was plaguing her kitchen larder.

Elfman did not see her go out of the house; he was in the kitchen eating snacks. Like a man.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia outskirts.**_

Vergil could see Kardia Cathedral from the hill which he walked up to see the night view of Magnolia town. From where he stood, the cathedral was only in front of him a few hundred metres away from him and beyond Kardia Cathedral was Fairy Tail.

The Assassin walked down the hill and entered Magnolia to the surprise of several of the townsfolk.

"Hey! Traveller!"

Ghost turned around to meet them just as walked past them.

"Didn't you hear? Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail have been fighting! It's foolish to come here!" they anxiously told him.

"There is no other town nearby that will take me in if I go any further than here late at night," Ghost interjected.

"It's not safe here!" several of the townsfolk nodded their heads in agreement.

"I cannot go anywhere else," the Assassin calmly reiterated his predicament.

"Just stay out of trouble, otherwise both of the guilds might mistake you for their own enemy!"

"I will. Thank you for your concern," Ghost bowed and continued on his way to Fairy Tail.

As he walked, he noticed that it was still early in the night since the sun had set but the townsfolk were quickly rushing to get to their homes for fear of being attacked by Phantom Lord. Ghost continued to walk calmly towards Fairy Tail, observing closely that the closer he got to the guild; there were less people around in the area.

He finally reached the guild, only to see long iron poles protruding out of the building's structure.

Essentially, the guild house was in a destroyed state.

Cautiously, he took a few steps into the decrepit building to see if there was anyone who was still trapped inside. His senses kicked themselves into overdrive as he scanned the place for clues as to what happened here.

A footprint of iron filings…

Ghost bent down to inspect the footprint, concluding that the shoe size was that of a male. He got up and looked toward the bar counter and saw an iron mug that had a section of it bitten off or so it seemed.

_What kind of magic allows one to eat such a thing?_

Then his eyes fell on several strands of long and knotted hair, an indication that the guild's wrecker was an untidy male who enjoyed destroying the memories of other people.

The Assassin proceeded out of the destroyed guild and looked around for a point of interest when he remembered the note that Mira made in his book. Looking up to the top of the destroyed guild, he decided that it would be high enough for him to synchronise with the entire town.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

_Mirajane_

Mira walked across the street, wary of the absence of townsfolk and watching her back for any Phantoms lurking around Magnolia. She made her way down that same street and met the junction where she knew she would turn right towards the direction of Fairy Tail, the convenience store just beyond its gates. As she peered around the corner she thought she saw someone dressed in white entering the destroyed guild house. Another quick glance at the guild and the figure was gone.

She quickly headed into the convenience store to buy what she needed before quickly getting out, seeing a hint of a tailed garb turn around the corner.

She continued back the same way she came and shivered due to the cold of the night and the accompanying darkness. Mira wrapped the coat tighter around her slim figure before walking back to her home.

"You!" she heard a voice behind her. She turned around to see a lesser member of Phantom Lord with a sword drawn in her direction. "Fairy! I will rip out your wings tonight! Haha!" the Phantom Lord mage let out a maniacal laugh and began to run at her.

Mirajane began running for her life before hearing a gurgle behind her and an exhalation of breath that she had heard only once before. She turned around to find that the mage that chased her was dead on the ground in a slump with pressure marks that formed a ring around the neck, indicating that he was strangled to death.

She jogged a little bit slower only to hear two more knives being drawn a distance behind her before breaking into a sprint, fearful for what they would do to her.

Then it came again, that gurgling sound.

Twice in a row.

She turned back to see that two more of Phantom Lord's mages ending up with the same wounds as the first. She ran for her life and eventually ran through her front door after three more of Phantom Lord's met a similar fate.

She heaved a sigh of relief and brought out the recently bought food into their designated places in the kitchen before heading to her room to retire for the day.

She pulled the covers up to her stomach after slipping into her bed and closed her eyes,

Only to have the nightmare relive itself over and over again.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

_Vergil_

He heard footsteps coming at his direction when he had only just synchronised with Magnolia. He looked down to see a white haired beauty with a small forward ponytail enter a nearby convenience store below his position. He saw her enter the store when his eye caught several figures slowly taking positions along a particular street, all of them sporting that Phantom Lord guild insignia that Mystogan had told him about earlier following their raid in Crocus. He leapt from his perch down into a leaf litter pile that the town cleaners had gathered outside the Fairy Tail gates and proceeded to the nearest building's corner, unfurling his rope dart. Peering out he spotted two of the Phantom mages before shooting his rope dart to strangle the first one with silence before pulling back the second one hanging in the air and throwing him down to confirm his death.

Mira had not come out of the store yet at this time and Ghost took the initiative to take out most of the Phantom mages before the Faery emerged out of the convenience store. He managed to silently kill four more with speed and precision before hearing the ring of the convenience store's door and hurried footsteps.

He quickly turned around the corner of the building and climbed up quickly to the rooftops, keeping an eye on the person of his interest, watching her turn around to watch her back. She passed an alley which was hiding two Phantom mages. The Assassin leapt across the rooftop gaps and shot out his rope dart at the mage that was further in the alley, killing him.

The other mage emerged out of the alley and shouted at Mira, drawing his sword at her. She began running for her life and Ghost quickly took action, strangling the mage with his rope dart from the roof.

She turned around just as he withdrew his rope dart to see the dead man on the ground. Then, she began running once more to her home and two more; the last two mages, showed themselves and each drew a knife.

They were swiftly dealt with.

Vergil saw Mirajane run home in frenzy and locked the front door behind her, knowing that what she had just experienced would scar her sleep later tonight.

It was something that he did not intend to do but as an Assassin, killing was the only way he knew to stop dangerous threats against anyone permanently. Subduing them would work but only when the enemy's cause was rendered useless and null.

He leapt from his perch on the rooftops down into a petal cart that was below him a few storeys and emerged out of it, approaching the front door to see that the lights in the living room were only recently turned off. He began a small tour around the one storey house and saw several windows open by a sliver. He vaulted over the fence, wary not to trip any lacrima alarms or break several hand painted garden gnomes. Approaching the slightly open window slightly, he saw Mirajane's sleeping form curled up in her bed with the covers up till her abdomen. She hugged a bolster and the Assassin could visibly see her shivering in her sleep. Looking in the other direction to make sure that he was safe from unwanted attention, he saw Fairy Tail, realising that he had climbed up a hill that overlooked the west side of town before turning back to face the window, seeing Mira's face contorted with fear written all over it.

Vergil pushed the window softly and lightly until it was wide enough for him to creep in and explore her room. From the window, the door leading into the sitting room was in the far left corner. Next to the door, nearer to him, was where a dressing table stood, propped against the pink wall, holding a spell book of sorts with a letter underneath it. He saw his name on it but decided to take a closer look at it later. Opposite the dressing table was her bed and to the bed's right was a cupboard leaning against the wall. Several posters of her in swimsuits were pasted on the ceiling and Ghost let out a very low whistle before his attention turned to the woman who was shaking visibly with fear in her bed.

"Mira…"

He placed his hand on her bare shoulder, hoping to still her in her sleep. She continued shivering in fear. He did not know what it was that made her so scared like this but he only knew her for a day and a half so it was too early for him to tell whether it was a severe nightmare or a mild one that occasionally got to her, besides that particular incident with her younger sister Lisanna.

He remembered her telling him about Lisanna, although it was a particularly difficult subject to talk about. Mirajane slowly opened up to him and he did so accordingly, just enough that he knew would not compromise him or his brotherhood.

"Mira, Mira, what has happened to you?" he whispered into her ear.

She continued to shiver in fear in her subconscious state. He withdrew from her before seeing tears form at the corner of her eyes. He got down to her, sat on the bed and gently scooped her up in his hands and held her close to his chest. He smelled her hair and that fragrance seeped into his senses; a serenading feeling encompassing him with a sudden flurry of emotions.

_What is this? Love? It feels weird, uncomfortable. A strange attachment…what am I thinking of? Am I even allowed to think of such things? My father was not able to teach me about this thing that I have never known about and neither did my mother. The other Assassins are not supposed to contact me or anyone else given the current situation that has just transpired in Crocus. Is this even taught in a book? I will not give in to my temptations and just treat her like she is special, from one friend to another. It does not matter if she reciprocates these feelings. So long as someone is there to take care of her she will be fine. All she needs is time alone to think. _

_Not too much like the way I do though, that can kill someone._

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

She felt like someone had lifted this shroud of fear that had been plaguing her dreams to reveal light and a meadow where she walked around, looking for the person who had made her feel better almost instantly. In this beautiful meadow, she wondered out loud to herself where this wonderful person might be.

"Do you feel better now?" she heard a quiet, slow baritone voice coming from the exterior of her subconscious.

_Isn't that…Vergil?_

She looked around for Vergil, calling him but he did not respond. She continued to hunt around the meadow for him but was never able to find the Assassin.

She had read his codex; certain parts of it were mainly just gibberish to her but she never expected to come across a few empty pages that were meant for more of the cryptic information not meant for her. She took a pen while he was not looking that day at Port Hargeon and wrote a little cute message in it with her signature heart drawing to compliment her quote.

"Vergil! Are you there?" she called him. She felt another rush of warmth wash over her, making her realise that Vergil was actually cradling her in his arms, making sure that her nightmare would cease. In all honesty, she was deeply touched by his actions and wanted to desperately to wake up and give him a big hug in return but her body seemed to be ignoring her, refusing to wake up the slightest bit. She felt gentle arms snaking across her back to make sure that she felt absolutely safe and her eyes teared, touched that such gentlemen still existed in Earthland, having previously thought that they were a dying breed.

"There is no need to cry, Mirajane," Vergil's gentle voice resonated within her.

_This dream is too good to be true!_

"The sun is almost up," Vergil spoke to her sleeping body, "I have to go now. We will speak again soon I assure you."

_No, wait! Please don't go! _

"Trust me," he said gently, as if responding to her, "we will meet again very soon."

She felt the warmth leave her body but memory of it still lingered on as she continued to rest peacefully for the first time in three days.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

He got up from the bed, his mind at ease that Mirajane was now sleeping peacefully. He walked over to the dressing table and picked up the letter before reading its contents.

_Dear Ghost,_

_How have you been? I hope things are going well with you on your journeys. I just have a small favour to ask you: would you like to go on a date with someone from my guild? Her name is Cana Alberona; she is a buxom woman who uses card magic and is a very heavy drinker. When I mean heavy it REALLY is heavy. Would you be interested?_

_Mira  
_

Vergil let out a small chuckle and took the letter, stashing it in one of his pouches before carefully thinking about it again. He took the letter out before disconnecting his left ring finger from his left prosthetic arm and placed both items on the dresser before taking out a pen and writing on the opposite side of the letter.

_Mira, _

_I am truly sorry but a date is now the least of my many worries as of late. I am afraid I cannot fulfil your request for me to go on a date although I know that you have good intentions. Additionally, if you are going to send letters to me as often as you see fit, I kindly ask that you do not do so as it will endanger the townsfolk of Magnolia as well as yourself and your guild. Lastly, is it possible for us to meet some time later in the day? I would very much like to catch up with you on your welfare and the like._

_I hope to meet you at the East Forest after lunch._

_Sincerely,_

_Ghost._

"Nee-san?Are you awake yet?" Vergil heard her younger brother knock on the door and quickly bolted out of the window as silently as he could before Elfman entered the bedroom.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

She felt a different presence this time that woke her up, knowing that Vergil had already left her to have a few more moments of sleep. She opened her eyes and saw her brother just closing the door behind him as he exited. She sat up and looked around to see that the Assassin Vergil had covered his tracks effortlessly, leaving no trace of his presence here.

Until her eyes fell on a curious looking pen that had two joints that looked oddly familiar. She quickly got out of bed and moved over to her dressing table to see that Vergil "Ghost" Teivel had indeed left a piece of himself behind, his finger to be exact. Her eyes then shifted to what the metal finger was weighing down underneath.

_He replied? He actually replied!_

She took the letter and began reading its contents, only to have her face slightly crestfallen at the fact that Vergil had no intention to date anyone in her guild but still understanding her kind intention to match him with someone that she trusted.

She got ready to head to the guild building with her brother, Laki and Cana to help clear out the iron poles that wrecked the guild's structure; his finger closely guarded and safe in her dress's pocket.


	3. Of Fairies, Phantoms and the Ghost

_**Magnolia**_

The looming structure that which was Phantom Lord's HQ had come to annihilate Fairy Tail's existence from the face of Fiore. All of the Fairies had quickly come outside on the shores of Lake Sciliora, where Phantom was approaching from, to defend their guild house with their lives. At such a sight of the mobile fortress which was Phantom Lord, several of the Fairies had already lost heart, only to be scolded by their fellow members and told to fight for the guild's honour.

The preparation for defence was already in order for Fairy Tail and they had gathered all the strength that they were able to muster, with weapons drawn at the ready and magic circles filling the area.

As the whole of Magnolia knew, Fairy Tail's best defence was also its rampant tendency for dishing huge amounts of pain through offense.

However, fate had decided Fairy Tail learn the true meaning of defence,

And learn it hard.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

She had been seeking refuge in the now defunct guild house watching the enormous magical convergence cannon, Jupiter, load itself up to its lethal projectile size before firing at Fairy Tail. She quickly looked for a solid piece of cover to protect herself from the blast, only to feel that she had not been hurt. She peered over her small piece of wall to meet shock.

Erza was in her Adamantine Armour blocking the cannon head on and Mira knew that armour, although high in defence, would not be able to stop that blast entirely without taking its toll on the Knight. It was only when the blast ended that Erza was blown backwards with the Adamantine Armour shattered and broken, leaving the Knight heavily wounded on the ground.

"Erza…" Mirajane's voice was pained. There was nothing that the barmaid could do at all in this kind of situation, let alone fight. She felt the backlash shockwave of Jupiter course through her hair and continue on through Magnolia.

From her hiding spot, she saw Lucy crying, knowing that all this pain and trouble was because of her.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

Whoosh.

_What was that?_

Ghost got up from his makeshift bed in the quietest corner of the quietest place where he had made his hideout in the chamber a few metres atop the tallest steeple which housed Kardia Cathedral's church bells. No stairs were in this room; only two windows that faced north and south respectively. As far as he had heard, there were no documentations about this room and none of the Fairy Tail mages had the power of flight high enough to reach this particular room even with the help of a little propulsion and some ladders. The bells' chiming was strangely soft and gentle although they were directly below him.

In this circular room, he had his bed in the darkest, quietest place he could find that was out of high winds and occasional rain. Beside the bedroll were a stack of his research books that he had brought with him when he had left his beachfront house in Hargeon town. Artworks hung on the wooden walls as well as several blueprints for new inventions or improvements for existing weapons. A small makeshift rack for weapons were in the centre of the room and his clothes lay in a neat and organised pile just slightly beyond his reach from the bed roll. A makeshift table made of mahogany sat at the north window with a map of Fiore pinned down to its four corners. Last but not least, a light lacrima illuminated the entire room with its well chosen position from the centre of the ceiling, suspended by cables and wires that kept it from spinning and swaying uncontrollably.

The Assassin gathered his weapons and looked out towards Fairy Tail, seeing a bigger building that dwarfed the damaged guild with a long cannon barrel being pointed at it.

_When did that thing get there? What is going on?_

He began to see flashes of magic shoot into the sky as several spectral bodies assaulted the defending guild below.

_It cannot be… A guild war? What is going on?_

He then saw the transformation of the giant guild building into a sort of mechanical mage that had limbs and a face and all sorts of humanoid features before its hands began to draw a magic circle in the air with its three fingers. Although the Assassin never saw it happen, his ancestors had experienced the full effects of Abyss Break and wished never to see it being used again for petty means. Vergil had read the detailed account of his thirty-fifth bloodline enough to know that that particular spell would not bid well to anyone on the receiving end and that of anyone else who had decided to come near it for the experience. It was basically asking for a death wish to be attacked by a spell such as Abyss Break, even on a smaller scale by one mage but this, this was too much.

If the spell was to be activated and cast, Fairy Tail, Magnolia and a good deal of the surrounding hills and mountains would become nothing but flat, barren wasteland; even the lake would dry up and crack.

He climbed onto the northern window's sill where a beam extended out as a perch for him to stand on and synchronise with the town of Magnolia. There was an identical perch on the southern window as well which served the same purpose. He scanned his surroundings to look for a safe landing spot this high from the ground.

Seeing a petal cart, he threw his arms out wide and leaned forward in free fall, flipping over halfway such that he would land on his back and into the petal cart. He had stuck the landing perfectly well this time every time, but it was only this time the cart smashed, splintering into a few pieces as curious onlookers wondered what had happened.

Ghost emerged from the mess unscathed and unharmed to the curious grins of onlookers who thought that a divine power had come down to present something to them. He inwardly laughed at his routine of "flying" and silently cursed at the fact that the cart was too old and disused and there were not enough petals in it to create a softer cushioning impact. He began heading to the battleground at full speed and not before long, scrambled with haste onto the rooftops to gain time to observe, watch and possibly stop the madness that had overcome Phantom Lord's guild master, Jose Porla.

_Mira mentioned him as one of the Ten Wizard Saints…and also the fact that Makarov was down and out of this battle for an indefinite period of time. If Porla even lifts a finger personally, even I myself would not know what to do…except to kill him in the way that I know best in order for him to stop._

_He is dangerous, because she cried that day when we met in the East Forest. She silently broke down and cried. It explains why she shivered in her sleep that night when I dropped by; it also explained to me why she had not been smiling as often as I remembered her before._

Ghost leapt across a gap, dislodging a few tiles in his haste to make sure that his friend was alright. He leapt once more at another ledge, his arms stretched out before him towards a hanging pole, and using it to swing himself across with as much momentum as he could muster. Upon the exit of the obstacle he rolled back wards in mid-air to gain more height and landed with a roll on the next rooftop, which was considerably higher than the previous one earlier. Reaching his destination, he looked down to see Mirajane casting a sleeping spell on the mage who had caused all the trouble without even knowing it: Lucy Heartphilia.

It seemed to Ghost that Jude Heartphilia would have stopped at nothing from getting his runaway daughter back, even after posting all the requests to the underground, catching the eyes of some of the Assassins. Phantom Lord was putting on much more of a show in getting her back to Jude of the Heartphilia Konzern.

_This is Lucy Heartphilia? She has hidden herself well enough to have Assassins search all the well-off places for her. The jobs that she had taken previously could be the culprit that exposed her identity. She is smart but has more to learn about the art of disappearing effortlessly._

He saw Mira catch Lucy's sleeping form before asking Reedus the artist, to take Lucy away to a safe place that had been arranged for her should Fairy Tail be attacked. He hastily drew a cart pulled by a purple pig and it materialised in an instant. He put Lucy in the cart and sped off to the undisclosed location that the Assassin was not able to hear.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Mirajane stood there at the spot seeing Reedus take off with Lucy before transforming her face into that of Lucy. The resolve on her face showed nothing more than determination, to become something useful after years of being nothing but a hindrance for so long. She knew this herself even after everyone in the guild told her otherwise.

_Even if this means saving my nakama while sacrificing myself, so be it!_

Mira made her way to the battlefield with resolve before being told that Elfman and Gray had joined the fray inside of the Phantom before it had transformed into the mechanic mage and begun drawing Abyss Break. Those pieces of news made her want all the more to go out and do something for her guild.

She walked out onto the battlefield full of strong resolve as her face maintained the image of Lucy. Several Fairies quickly told her to get to safety but she ignored them as Shades flew past her to attack more of her guild mates. She decided that she would end this pain being inflicted on her guild, ignoring Cana calling out her name to get to safety before stretching out her hands in surrender.

"I'm the one you're after, right?! Stop attacking the guild right now!"

There was a moment of silence from both sides as she knew Jose Porla was assessing the situation.

"Disappear," his magically magnified voice boomed. "Little impostor."

_No! This is not supposed to happen!_

"I knew right from the start that Lucy wasn't there," Jose taunted her directly, "There's no way that the person who was targeted would be sent to the front lines…"

Mirajane was in shock, not knowing what to do now. She hung her head as the fighting immediately resumed, breaking down and crying, holding her face with her hands.

_I'm…completely useless…_

_Elfman…you're in no state to be fighting…_

It was then that a large three fingered shadow loomed over her directly from on top.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

Ghost had found a suitable perch high up above the raging battle below him and had opened his codex to take down notes for his next article. He had been fending off Shades that slowly sapped his energy surely and did not know when he was about to give out. He felt extremely weak so much so that his clear handwriting had become slightly more than decipherable scribbles. His stamina was the only thing that was allowing him to last this long without tiring out or falling off the L-shaped beam on which he sat and leant against for support, one leg hanging in the air.

Then, he saw her make her mistake of posing as Lucy and being shamed in front of her guild which she fought so desperately hard to protect in her own way. The Assassin seethed with anger and clenched his prosthetic fist tightly at the sight that lay before his eyes.

_She cried again. Wait. Why am I so furious over the fact that she was made fun of by an enemy? I have seen fellow Assassins being shamed but never have I felt so angry for them. What is happening to me?_

"Attempting to deceive us…" he heard Jose Porla's voice again, "I don't think I like you, girl. I'll just smash you to pieces." Porla sounded like he had made an inconsequential decision before increasing the force of grip on Mirajane, causing her to scream in pain.

"Mira!" Ghost heard a woman scream.

_So this is Cana?_

_Hold on… something is not as right as it seems…_

The Assassin's Eagle Sense flared to life as he scanned the road directly beneath him, seeing a target highlighted gold running past him. This target had long, unkempt hair that ran down to his waist that stuck out at odd angles, as well as metal studs that framed his sharp face and his features. An evil grin adorned his face and his tongue slithered between his lips, his eyes red with anticipation for his next course of action. On his body, the Phantom mark was easily seen on his shoulder and the dark clothes he wore immediately gave him away as an enemy of Fairy Tail.

Closing his codex shut, Ghost leapt from his perch and down into a leaf stack, chasing down after the target before he got to his objective, which he knew was Lucy. What he did not know was that another mage of Fairy Tail had felt the exact same thing and had gone off to where Reedus and Lucy were hiding.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"…If we defeat all of the Element Four," Mira told her brother, Elfman, "We can prevent the spell!"

She had realised that when the preparation of Abyss Break had slowed down considerably as Elfman was pounding Sol, one of the Element 4.

"Really?!" Elfman stared at her in surprise.

"Quickly! They must be somewhere inside this giant!" Mira pressed, now fully aware of the situation. She inwardly thanked God for that book that she had read last night, the night that Ghost came and cradled her to sleep.

Both brother and sister headed back inside the giant to look for the next Element 4 member before realising that the floors had become walls and the walls had become floors. Additionally, doors became windows and windows became doors. They looked around for stairs up to the top where they suspected the location of another Element 4 member.

"Is there another way up?" Mira asked her brother.

"There should be some stairs that go up the right way around here somewhere," Elfman looked around to see several inclines going up.

"Those will have to do," said Mirajane.

The two Take-Over siblings carefully crawled their way up the inclines and met a long hallway. This time, water was dripping from the adjoining corridor that led upwards to another long corridor, before seeing a block of ice crashing down towards them.

"Nee-chan!" Elfman quickly pulled his sister out of harm's way before looking at the damage that was being caused by ice and water from above. Several glass shards were threatening to fall down upon them as well from the other corridor.

"I think I can climb this," said Elfman, his eyes seeing a path that her eyes could not. He performed a full body Take-Over into his King Beast form and getting Mira to climb onto his back, grabbing hold of his two shoulder horns as he jumped up. He jumped up at a pillar, his claws sinking into the marble before leaping at an open doorframe. Since the corridor was full of doors, he used them like a ladder, slowly getting to the top of this particular obstacle for it was not the easiest ladder to climb.

Elfman slipped his footing when he leapt onto the doorframe that was opposite him so as to prevent several blocks of ice raining down in their direction. Luckily, his claws were still wedged firmly into the doorframe, allowing him to safely hang by his fingertips.

"Elfman! You okay there?" Mira asked, concerned.

"Yeah," he grunted as he shifted his weight to accommodate his strength better. "Not to worry at all, Nee-chan. A real man never repeats his mistake!"

The younger Strauss was extra careful this time after that small misstep but continued to make good progress all the way to the top without another incident. They both climbed over the ledge (Mira helping him up) and looked around to see shattered glass, bits of ice, and puddles of water everywhere. Spells being cast could be heard outside and at furious paces; both voices belong to Gray and an unnamed woman. It was obvious that Gray had found the third member of the Element 4 and was in heated combat with her.

Then her attack came too suddenly.

A huge wave of water immediately came pouring down into the corridor.

"Nee-chan! Find cover! Quickly!" Elfman called out to his sister.

"In here! NOW!" Mira ordered her younger brother, opening a door and rushing inside, closing the door just as the wave of hot, boiling water washed past.

"That was way too close…" Mira heaved a sigh of relief while she sat down in the storeroom, on top of a barrel.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_How did I climb onto the rooftops and still catch up with this man?_

Ghost was chasing down his target, slowly gaining distance on him.

_Never again will his actions or the actions of his master make anyone cry, especially Mira._

_Wait… Why Mira? What is wrong with me today?_

Ghost shook his head before he leapt over another gap across the rooftops; he drew his bow and fired a quick shot at the target. The arrow struck true; landing in front of the man and causing him to trip on it and fall face flat into the ground.

Ghost dropped down onto the road with his dagger and hidden blade at the ready, his body tensed yet relaxed enough to prepare him for the impending fight with a ruthless mage for he knew the identity of the man in front of him at minimum safe distance.

_Gajeel Redfox, ace of Phantom Lord guild, also known as the Iron Dragon Slayer._

"Who the hell are you?!" the iron dragon kicked himself up and turned to face the Assassin.

Ghost stayed silent, as he always had been regardless of battle or not. He adopted his usual relaxed stance, with his dagger held in his favourite pickaxe grip.

"Not a talker huh?!" Gajeel cursed. "I'll make sure you never get to talk again, punk." He grinned evilly at the Assassin before commencing his attack.

Ghost tilted his head to one side seeing that Gajeel casted the iron dragon's club spell, before ducking down to avoid the swerve that followed and rolled out to safety. The club was brought down to bear in a second attack and the Assassin rolled away, throwing his balanced knives at the iron dragon, who sidestepped out of the way and delivered a punch to the gut, sending Ghost flying back.

Ghost recovered quickly and proceeded to cautiously flank him to which he was successful and delivered a scratch on Gajeel's back, across the right shoulder blade, before jumping back to avoid the iron club once more.

The iron club elongated as a punch toward Ghost and the Assassin deftly leapt onto it and ran as fast as he could towards his target and giving him a good kick in the face before jumping up and landing an elbow on his head with the added weight of his falling body. Ghost quickly got up and readied his battle stance once more, his Eagle Sense having connected with him and highlighting areas of his target that were physically the weakest.

_A new aspect of the Eagle Sense opens up to me today._

Gajeel quickly got up and shot throwing knives at the Assassin who back flipped in the air and evaded them effortlessly,

Only to have him catch the iron club with his left arm and his side. Gajeel grinned at the Assassin's folly, not knowing how he learned his magic, if he had any.

"Iron dragon's sword!"

Ghost saw the club turn into a sword in the blink of an eye before it went through the side of his abdomen. He clutched at the wound as he fell to the ground, only to have the iron club juggle him in the air with a few more punches before the iron dragon slayer finally decided to let him fall to the ground with a strong thud.

"I don't know who you are but you are one annoying bastard," Gajeel stood over Ghost's limp form that had been laying spread eagle with a pool of blood forming at the wound. "I'm only here because the master says so and that I should bring the rich brat back with me so we can leech the Heartphilia Konzern dry of all its money."

Ghost had been shocked at the statement, although he did not show it at all; he just lay still, in great pain.

"We were so famous once… Now we will be famous again," Gajeel grinned malevolently. He caught of sight of the embedded arrow and ate the arrow tip in full view of the Assassin.

Ghost smirked behind his mask, clearly remembering that he had given the arrow tips in his full quiver with an overdose of seven coats of poison.

Then, Gajeel kicked him in the face, effectively knocking him out cold.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Mirajane and her brother ran forward to where Gray was after he had defeated Juvia, the third Element 4 member in their hunting list to stop the Abyss Break.

_If this is the third of the Element 4…then there's…_

"Just one left," she said out loud.

"Hmm?" Gray asked her inquisitively.

"If we defeat the last Element Four member, we can stop Abyss Break!" Mira hurriedly explained.

Gray looked more puzzled at her statement before Elfman quickly told him the gist of it.

"It turns out that the giant and the spell are powered by the Element Four themselves," Elfman told Gray informatively.

"We can still make it!" Mira's eyes were set in determination as well as her spirit. "We'll definitely succeed!"

The other two agreed with her and began to make their way down into the long maze that was the hallways and corridors to find the last of the Element 4, hoping that that they were not too late in stopping him or that Natsu was losing badly to him.

The three navigated the hallways slowly and carefully since neither of the tree had any strong sense of direction to begin with. They looked here and there, peering out of wall corners and into storerooms to make sure that they were at least on the right track to wherever their quarry was.

"I think it's this way…" Gray pointed down a particular corridor that led down.

"Are you sure?" asked Elfman.

"I think so…"

"Only one way to find out," Elfman promptly pushed Gray off the ledge and simply waited before shouting, "A real man let's others go first!"

"DAAAAAAMMMNNN YOOOoouuuuuuuuuuu…" Gray was heard screaming his way down before there was a sound of surprise and weapons clashing.

"Enemies down there!" the younger Strauss exclaimed, jumping down and unknowingly leaving Mirajane behind. "A real man lives to fight!"

Mira deadpanned, before shaking her head in a sigh. "Elfman…"

_Well, I guess I'll just have to find another way down I suppose…_

She looked down over the ledge that her brother just jumped off and saw the great height from her position to the barely visible ground all the way below. It was too much for her to jump and possibly survive. Gray had enemies down at the bottom and Elfman had his Take-Over magic. Mira did not know what to do now except to find the safest way down to ground level. She checked her surroundings to see if there was any door or passageway of any kind before seeing several rows of doors to her right. She approached the first of many and opened it, expecting a flight of stairs or a crude slide that would hopefully take her down to the lower levels.

The opened door revealed nothing, only several broomsticks and empty barrels. She shut the door gently and quickly moved on to the next door. This time, there was a sort of passageway that led down but it had been covered by debris from Gray's earlier fight with Juvia, rendering it useless. Mirajane hastily moved on to the next door and found some rope. She looked out of the door for anything that she could tie the rope to so that she could descend, only to see glass shards and ice blocks. Furthermore, the rope was not long enough to bring her down to the bottom, so she gave up on the idea and carried on to the next door.

This time, there was a magic circle that glowed on the ground in this particularly small room. Above it, there were words floating in the air, indicating the destination that the user of the magic circle would bring the user to.

_A teleportation grid? Interesting…_

The words that were floating indicated "Concourse".

_I hope that this will take me where Elfman and Gray are…_

She stepped onto the magic circle and was immediately sucked into it, not giving her any warning as to when it took effect.

She knew somehow after thinking about it that Juvia, the water woman, had used it earlier to get around the giant before meeting Gray and engaging in battle with him.

Mirajane was then promptly shot out of the other end of the magic circle to the surprise of a few Phantom mages that had been near the teleportation circle and immediately rounded on her, before being swiped aside by Elfman in his Iron Bull Take-Over form. She saw Gray dealing with more Phantoms with the swords that he had made out of ice.

"A real man goes through me before he can get to my sister!" Elfman roared as he defended his sister from the Phantom mages. "A real man never hurts women! A real man uses his fists to fight instead of weapons!"

Mira stayed rooted to her spot just beyond the magic circle she had appeared out of so that the other two Fairies that were fighting could concentrate on the enemies fully instead of having to temporarily switch from offense to defence just to protect her. The sooner these Phantoms were dealt with, the better.

"This is what you get for messing with Fairy Tail!" Gray yelled as he swiped across a Phantom mage, sending him backwards and into a group of his fellow Phantoms. "Ice Geyser!"

Several more mages were sent flying into oblivion with the ice attack but Elfman was not going to lose to some "stripper" as Natsu called Gray affectionately.

_Maybe "affectionately" is not the right word to use now…_

_That's it! The last member! Aria, who controls the element of air! The one who almost killed master…_

"Elfman! Gray! We have to go now!"

"Huh?!" Gray exclaimed, not understanding the urgency that still existed in the form of Abyss Break.

"Go! If she says it's important, it is important!" Elfman roared as he cleared his area of Phantom mages. Mira took the opportunity to make a run for the nearest exit as the other two followed closely behind, explaining the magical atrocities that Aria, pinnacle of the Element 4, were capable of.

"His eyes?"

"Yes," Mira replied, "Aria always keeps his eyes closed. Apparently keeping them closed is the only way he can keep his immense powers under control."

"What the hell?!" Gray exclaimed, now realising how much Fairy Tail was in danger if the three of them, with Natsu hopefully, were not able to defeat Aria.

"At any rate, if we run into Aria, we have to defeat him before he opens his eyes!" Mirajane warned the two of them. "If he does that, we may lose all hope of winning the battle!"

They continued running before a tremor surged through the giant.

"What's this?" said Gray.

"Did Natsu defeat him, then?!" Elfman questioned around.

Mira had no idea of the events that she had ever taken part in but she supposed she could hazard a guess or two as to what happened. Her next sentence brought relief to the other two Fairies and she knew that it was a definite fact.

"It stopped! Abyss Break has been averted!" she clenched her fist in happiness with a great smile.

_This whole ordeal is not entirely over yet… There is still Gajeel and Jose…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Loki**_

_What is this? Who is this?_

Loki looked at the limp body that he came across on his way to save Lucy; the person on the ground in the middle of the empty road was unconscious and pooling blood from a gash to the side of his left abdomen. The man knelt down next to the strangely dressed man, noticing his left arm which had induced a sense of fear in him. Reaching for the other man's hand, he felt for a pulse and thanked God when he found the steady beat that synchronised with his heart. It was slow but enough so that this man would live to see another day.

_So many weapons… what should I do with him? Why is he hurt like this? Was he helping us?_

Loki pondered the life of this particular man, before dragging his body by the armpits and into an alley, propping him up against a dark corner and making sure that he looked comfortable. The beaked hood of this man was always covering his face and Loki could not get a good visual on his features.

_I'll leave him here and come back for him when all this is over. Hopefully he will still be alive then…and I hope Porlyusica-san can do something about this curious fellow…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T**** )**

_**Mirajane**_

"All you Fairy Tail members out there," Jose's magnified voice called for attention, "We have succeeded in capturing Lucy."

"No!" Mira cursed softly, "they found the hiding place?!"

Lucy was then heard screaming through the magical voice magnifier in great pain.

"Stop it!" Mira cried, not able to take anymore disappointment with herself.

The group continued along way and ran into the antechamber of the guild, not expecting to see Erza Scarlet, propped up against the wall and an unconscious Aria a few steps away from her.

"What are you doing here?" Gray asked Erza.

"Don't tell me you actually fought someone in this state?" Elfman asked, concerned.

Mira looked at Aria's body and realised the wounds that he had succumbed to were from the spell known as "Tenrin Blumenblatt".

"Then the one who defeated Aria was you…" Mira concluded.

"I didn't want you to see me in such a pitiful state," Erza managed a weak smile, "guess I still have a long way to go, huh?"

It came too suddenly. It was a chill in the air, and a strike to their hearts.

"W-what is this sensation?" Gray was high on the alert, looking about for anyone. He had to be wary; the magical presence had suddenly become too strong for him to get comfortable.

"UUUGH! I feel a chill unbefitting a man!"

"What is this?" Mira whimpered to herself, hoping that the worst was already over.

"My, my, what a wonderful show you put on," a familiar voice spoke behind them, accompanied with a few congratulatory claps.

_Oh no… It cannot be… Jose Porla…_

"I never honestly expected you to provide me with this much entertainment," a smug smile spread across his face as he was being recognised.

_This guy's the master of Phantom. How can his magic feel so evil? It's making me physically sick just from standing this close!_

"Well then," Jose's voice now laced itself with poison, "I must thank you for providing me with all this entertainment.

"I've had my fill."

"Get away!" screamed Erza in warning.

Mira heard the warning but it had been a tad too late.

Her world had turned black.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

His vision began to clear slowly as he woke up, remembering the pain that coursed through his body and the person who had inflicted it.

_Damn. _

With slight difficulty, he got up and assessed his surroundings, spotting a trail of blood from the middle of the road to where he stood, hunched and clutching his wound with his right hand.

_It seems that there are good Samaritans around here in Magnolia but why leave me here when I could have been taken to a nearby hospital instead of an alley. Then again, the minds of humans are always somewhere balancing on top of a fence. At least I have developed a penchant for resisting pain and building up immunity to it, or I would have been much closer to death. However, seeing that I have only one arm to hold my wound, I can only defend myself with the other arm._

Ghost looked at his left prosthetic arm, recalling the memories that came with it, like the time a young boy had aptly named it the "Devil Arm" and it caught on soon after. It was no surprise to the arm's owner, mainly because there were more terrifying things that were hidden in it that he still had yet to find out.

A stab of pain afflicted his wound and he was brought out of his reminiscing and back to the situation at hand.

_I am losing blood…_

He got out of the alley and turned to face Kardia Cathedral, looking up at the small landing room atop the bell tower that he had made his hideout. His gaze then lowered itself onto the street before him to see several Phantom mages looting and destroying shops as well as harming innocents. This was too much for the Assassin and he seethed with anger at the fact that a once noble guild had descended down the path of greed and hate to disregard even their own species. He walked forward down the middle of Marcanoli Centre Boulevard, much to the chagrin and vile intentions of Phantom mages who had noticed him.

"What's this?" a gruff Phantom mage approached him as he continued walking, ignoring them. The mage called out to his fellow members, "Hey! We have a dying one over here! I get his arm! And his kni—"

In one swift motion, Ghost drew his hidden blade and stabbed him in the neck before quickly withdrawing and continued to walk, as if nothing happened. He limped slightly at the exertion of force that strained his muscles and shrugged off the pain.

"Inno?" several of the Phantom mages cried, hustling around the dead body as the Assassin continued on. "Inno's dead! Who did this?" the Phantoms began rounding up several of the innocents near the scene of the crime and began beating the answer out of them, to which they did not have any.

Then, one of the Phantoms approached Ghost rather roughly.

"Stop right there or I'll—"

BANG!

Ghost blew open the head of the Phantom mage with his hidden gun, nestled in his left prosthetic arm. The huge bullet shot through the eye and left a bloody, gory mess upon exit of the poor soul's cranium.

The Assassin had designed his own bullets apart from the conventional lead ball or conical bullet. These were not fuelled by magic but by copious amounts of highly explosive gunpowder to literally propel the 28mm calibre round at the greatest speed possible in an instant. These bullets were designed to pierce anything, from adamantine to dragon scales. Anything less than adamantine became instant matter, regardless of material. The firing sound was already loud by itself but instead of integrating a silencer, Ghost did the exact opposite and integrated a compensator muzzle slightly hidden in the base of his palm. The gun only loaded when the muzzle was aligned with the barrel with the aid of strong magnets and fired with a simple thought from his mind.

"GET HIM! KILL THAT BASTARD!" the Phantom mages immediately surrounded him, giving him no option of escape.

_Why surround me? I have no intention of escaping yet, nor do I have any intention of escaping anymore._

He drew his hidden blade, gripping it like a dagger and waited in his relaxed battle stance before numerous enemies charged at him.

He ducked, causing an overzealous mage to stab his friend in the face before having his abdomen ripped open by the Assassin. Ghost pushed his body off him into another mage buying him time to turn around and redirect a hammerhead into the foot of another Phantom mage before slitting the poor fellow's neck. The blood sprayed out like a fountain into the eyes of the others who had been unlucky to get caught in its splash zone before having their necks slit, their spines broken, or their entrails falling out of their abdomen. The Assassin skilfully avoided a sword swipe across his chest and retaliated with a precise backstab to the side of throat and pulling out the hidden blade with more force, slicing the neck open. The remaining few Phantom mages held back and assessed this never seen before threat that was now standing in front of them, still clutching his abdominal wound and not bearing any other scratch from their own weapons.

"What the hell?"

"How is he wounded that still enables him to fight like that?"

"What kind of person is this? What kind of magic is this?"

Ghost began walking forward towards the remaining mages, his blade glinting in the late afternoon sun, the blood on it earlier having dripped off onto the dead that lay grotesquely tortured.

"This man knows how to kill…"

"What are you doing?! Get him!" one mage yelled and charged at Ghost. The Assassin kicked him in the groin as he approached, causing the mage to bend forward in pain so low to the ground, giving Ghost his opening which he took ruthlessly by stabbing through the back of the neck repeatedly. Ghost's wound was causing problems on its own but the Assassin paid no attention to it. He continued on walking forward, causing much panic in the Phantom ranks as he approached and making them flee in terror.

Until there was one particularly menacing enemy that had chosen to obstruct his path.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

BANG!

The enemy flew to the ground, dead, with half his head blown into wet chunks of brain matter, copious amounts of blood, and cranium bone.

"KILL THAT BASTARD!" the Assassin heard all around him. Blood had been seeping out of his wound and he was not exactly sure of how long he would hold out.

He readied himself once more and began taking out enemies efficiently and ruthlessly. His blade sank repeatedly into flesh, cracked bone and severed muscle. His movements were with unorthodox grace, deftly avoiding swipes and hooks of weapons with ease before quickly returning with a light attack of his own and following up with heavier strikes. Redirections of others' weapons had also been second nature to him and he often used them to kill enemies who did not have enough courage to face the Assassin up front. He gracefully weaved in and out of attacks and cut across the numbers like butter under a knife, thinning them out with relative ease. Enemy after enemy came at him and he still had not run out of stamina to fight. He truly was the greatest Assassin that no one knew, for he felt he was never meant to be known by anyone other than the people which he chose to reveal himself to.

Now at the last enemy, the Assassin blocked a punch with his left arm's thorns before piercing the forearm of his enemy. Following that, Ghost administered a head butt before executing a shallow swipe across the chest. He finished by kicking the knee joint loose from its kneecap, causing the Phantom mage to fall to the ground and stomping on his neck, crushing his windpipe.

Vergil limped more than he did previously before his engagement with Phantom mages and stopped to take a rest outside a supermarket's entrance and looked up to see his hideout still well hidden from the rest of Magnolia. There, in the middle of the road, several innocents took a look at him before his vision became slightly blurry.

Without warning he fainted, due to the blood loss.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Nee-chan, can you stand?" Elfman gently shook her awake.

Mira looked up to see Fairy Tail's master, Makarov, against Phantom Lord's master, Jose, at a standstill, eyeing each other intently with the characters of men on opposite sides of conflict.

Elfman supported her out of the battle area that had been the deciding battle between the two of Fiore's greatest guilds. The two Strauss siblings along with Gray and Erza quickly left the room and headed outside of the now destroyed giant to see that Fairy Tail's guild house now lay in rubble and ruin.

_They managed to destroy it…_

Mirajane despaired, before turning around to notice that Phantom Lord had also been wrecked by Fairy Tail as well, the most destruction being caused by Natsu no doubt.

_Are we going to get out of this nightmare alive? Are we even going to get out of this nightmare at all? I know that master is here and that there's Erza and Natsu. Cana is taking care of everyone down there, Lucy is now safe from Phantom Lord's clutches and I am all right and well._

_I should tell Vergil about what happened today probably when I see him later._

_Hold on. That is if HE sees me instead. Sigh… That man is the weirdest of gentlemen that I have ever met and the most thoughtful of all the men and boys in Fairy Tail put together by a long shot. I wonder how he is doing? He surely would have seen this guild war from wherever he was hiding today and come down to investigate and taken down some notes in his little book or something like that._

A strong light appeared from within the destroyed giant and Mirajane felt calm and peaceful for the first time in many fearful weeks spent at home, wondering if Phantom mages would come and attack her every day; whether she would live to see the next day.

_Fairy Law. One of the three great spells of Fairy Tail, given by the first master and handed down to the masters succeeding the first._

A chorus of "WE WON" erupted at the shore as everyone gathered, hoping for good news that Master Makarov had won his fight. It was a joyful moment where there was celebrating and small hints of catcalling towards each other, knowing that things were going to be back to their normal, rowdy self. It was this time of their lives that memory had allowed them to keep and to guard closely with extreme zeal and jealousy. Good memories were never meant to be taken from anyone for anyone else.

Just like that, the whole guild was flung into celebration mode for a hard earned victory that they narrowly lost. Then again, the guild of Fairy Tail partied hard every day, so it did not make much of a difference.

"Mira-chan!"

"Yes, master?"

"Go and get some food for us to celebrate! Bring some of the other girls along if you want to!" said Makarov after he had wailed for getting involved in a guild war.

Mirajane quickly enlisted the help of Lucy, Levy, Cana, Bisca and Erza to help her bring food and wine back for the guild. The six of them skipped down Marcanoli Centre Boulevard; Lucy lagging behind, and saw a supermarket that had not been fully looted nor raided by Phantom mages. Along the way, there were several blood stains and some chunks of unidentifiable substances along the roadside but the group noticed a crowd just a few metres beyond the supermarket entrance.

"What is happening there?" asked Levy, pointing to the crowd. This piqued the curiosity of the other girls who had decided to come and investigate the commotion. The group slowly edged to the crowd with Erza leading first to ensure safety. The six of them made their way forward, with Mirajane being the last to see what the commotion was all about.

She peered at the subject of hushed discussion, seeing a pool of blood before tracing it to the owner who was on the ground with a grotesque wound to his left abdomen, having been split from the side at least ten centimetres in. The man on the ground wore strange white robes that had a white, beaked hood and a black leather facemask underneath that hid all his facial features.

She recognised the person at once.

"NO!" she shrieked at the sight that lay in front of her. Down there on the ground pooling blood and clearly unconscious was Ghost. She got down to his body to the surprise of her fellow Faeries and clutched his hand, feeling the faint warmth in his fingers slowly fading away.

"Get a doctor! Someone! Please!" she cried out, tears threatening to stream down her cheeks as she covered his body with hers, giving him some warmth and hopefully delaying his death. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Levy and Lucy speed off in recognition of someone that they knew could help.

_Please… of all the people that fought today, you seemed the most insignificant. I never realised that you were involved today… Please don't die Vergil…please don't ever die…_

"What is this?" an old woman Mira knew so well asked her authoritatively. It was Porlyusica, holding a woven basket with food and some supplies, clearly in the midst of her grocery shopping. Levy and Lucy stood behind her, hoping that they were not too late.

"Porlyusica-san! Please, save him!" pleaded Mira. From the guild's direction, Erza led Elfman and Nab holding a stretcher between them and showed them the heavily bleeding man on the ground. Mira could not control her tears anymore and wailed out loud.

"Move aside!" Porlyusica ordered the crowd to fan out and resume their own tasks before laying a shoulder on Mira, comforting her and getting Nab and Elfman to put the stranger on the stretcher and take him to her home. "He is losing a lot of blood but nothing I can't handle. That wound has to be disinfected first before any closing up of that horrible slice can happen," she told Mira over Ghost's body. The old woman then ordered the remaining Faeries to resume their task at hand, leading Mira by the shoulders all the way to the East Forest to get Vergil treated.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"NO!" he was suddenly awakened by some scream before he felt a soft, gentle hand grasping his own to feel for the remaining warmth in it. He did not move and the wound in his abdomen was not making any feeling of joy come around anytime so soon. He opened his eyes and met Mira, grieving over him and calling for help. She called out for a doctor quickly and he heard several people dashing off at once.

Then her tears fell in torrents just after she had covered his body with hers, a sort of half hug, hopefully delaying his death. Ghost knew that she was trying to save him by maintaining his body warmth for him and he knew that his succumbing to his wounds had left a serious effect on her whatever it was.

"What is this?" a hard, authoritative voice asked. It was an old woman with pink hair that was tied up in a bun with two streaks of hair that fell down the sides of her face that spoke. She wore a red cloak that she wrapped around herself rather tightly and a pink dress underneath but the thing that had caught his attention was her eyes. They were red and judging by the look that she had given him, she knew he was awake and listening to whatever that had been going on.

"Porlyusica-san! Please, save him!" Ghost saw Mira pleading to her. The old woman got the crowd to disperse and began her diagnosis on the Assassin in front of Mira as Ghost saw two Fairies being led by Erza the Knight bringing a stretcher for him.

"Put him gently onto the stretcher," she ordered the two men. They lowered the stretcher before doing as they were told. Mirajane and Porlyusica began talking over his body regarding his condition.

"He is losing a lot of blood but nothing I can't handle. That wound has to be disinfected first before any closing up of that horrible slice can happen," she told Mira over Ghost's body.

"Not to mention a few broken ribs," she whispered to the Assassin discreetly.

_Damn. That is not good news._

He was then promptly lifted up on the stretcher by the other two Fairies before they followed the old woman to her home in the East Forest with Mira in tow, Porlyusica placing a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

The journey to her house was rather uneventful. When the group had finally placed the Assassin onto the infirmary bed and the two Fairies had left for the guild to celebrate and party, Ghost sat up gingerly on the bed, to surprise of the Faery.

"Ghost!" Mira cried out in joy and hugged him tightly.

"Mira—ah, ah, ah," the Assassin stuttered, pain surging through his body.

"Oh, sorry!" she pulled back rather sheepishly, apologising profusely.

"It is alright," Ghost told her, "I am just badly wounded, that is all."

Porlyusica had been watching the exchange between the two since he supposedly "woke" up. Mira had definitely taken a liking to this young man but did she not know that he was one of Earthland's most lethal killers? To begin with, their history did not begin in Earthland but in another parallel universe.

"Since the young man is alright, would it be fine if you could just go back to your guild and celebrate while I heal this person?" the old woman inquired of the barmaid. "You can visit later but give him some rest."

"Sure thing Porlyusica-san," Mirajane smiled as she approached the door. "I'll come by later if I can."

Mira shut the door behind her as Porlyusica turned her attention to white hooded man on the bed, still clutching his wound.

"It seems that you hate humans," Ghost observed before removing his weapons and clothes save for his pants.

"You are correct, Assassin," replied the old healer as she got out a bottle of disinfectant, a spool of thread and a needle.

"How did you know?"

"Only Assassins came from Edolas and only certain humans in Edolas can become Assassins," she simply replied.

"Were you one of us?"

"No," Porlyusica then wiped the gash in his abdomen after she had taken care of the bacteria inside as well as foreign objects. Without warning, she began to stitch his wound shut with careful precision but the Assassin never flinched at the pain.

"Is it painful?"

"No, Porlyusica-san."

"Only one mage today could have given you a wound like this," she deduced. "Tell me, how is it that you got yourself involved in today's guild war?"

"I was initially curious when the Jupiter cannon was fired but when I saw Abyss Break, I knew that I could not just sit idly and watch while there were people to save and things about magic to learn," the Assassin replied.

"Magic," sighed the healer, halfway through the gash having done twenty-odd stitches so far. "It would be better if the world did not have it."

"And yet, the world would be nothing but warring humans fighting for it."

"How would you know?"

"Because the Assassins are in the midst of war currently where anyone can be an enemy. Without magic, we are nothing but cannon fodder for our enemies; we have no fighting edge. If we were able to learn magic, then perhaps our conflict would end sooner than we would have thought."

"Such words, coming from a man," she said. "How old are you?"

"Nineteen, just a few days older than Mirajane."

"You are too young to be fighting wars boy," the old woman scolded him. Instead of her usual broomstick waving, she lectured him, which was something else entirely with regard to Earthland humans.

"I know," he said as she finished up the wound's stitching. "Do you know much about magic?"

"Slightly more than Makarov, if you know who he is," she told him.

"Can you please read this and make the wrongs right?" Ghost held out a thin looking book that had a garish design on the front cover with the title "codex".

"A Judas book? How did you get it?"

"Judas Teivel the Wise was my ancestor," Ghost explained. She would know about the book due to the amount of information that certain people who were trusted with could add any amount of information and the rather thin book would still have many more empty pages waiting to be written on.

"That is quite thick for a very difficult to find book," she commented on it.

"It has been handed down through the generations and they have all written something with regards to the Assassins in general; this is a sort of guide and lessons based on past experiences," Ghost explained about the contents of the book.

"Alright, I'll help you," she said after deciding to help him or not. "Get some rest. I know the barmaid will come by later with some food for you."

Ghost laid himself down on the bed and shut his eyes to take a rest.

_This day has been the most interesting day in my life; I wonder what tonight will bring…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

_We have won. We have truly won._

Mirajane's mind was now at ease now that she knew Vergil was in more than capable hands, knowing that his recovery would be sure. As she strode past the many makeshift tables that were actually pieces of rubble, holding up a tray of beer and other drinks, she saw that Fairy Tail had quickly reverted back to its old, usual self. Gray and Natsu were fighting over the littlest things, Erza enjoying her strawberry cheesecake, Cana and her "boyfriend", Lucy and Levy discussing books and small girl talk, Wakaba ogling at her, Elfman shouting about manly things that were not manly in any aspect and Master sitting down at a quiet spot watching the guild celebrate with a mug of beer in his hand.

Although the guild's behaviour had returned to normal, Mira knew that what had only recently happened would change a few of the guild member's ways of life and thoughts forever.

Lucy would definitely be one of them, having been the unwanted centre of attention regarding all the trouble that had transpired. Another person was Levy, not knowing whether she would be able to leave the guild house with her teammates for fear of being attacked again. Elfman had regained his powers as a Take-Over mage and would definitely go on more jobs and even Mira herself knew that she would not be the same after the guild war with Phantom Lord.

She was now definitely thinking about the Assassin that she had been smitten with, although not wanting to admit it. Cana and Laki knew that something was up with her when she wrote that letter to Ghost that night and that she had felt better in the morning. It was strange to see a sudden change in Mira even though the girl was once an S-class mage who had control of dangerous and dark powers.

Since then, her mind had been constantly on the subject of Vergil, not knowing when the young man would drop by to see her or to make sure that she was fine. She sometimes wondered whether he liked her or not. It was a rather one-sided love; not knowing whether the other person loved you back.

She sauntered over the many heads with her tray full of drinks in hand and handed Wakaba his own drink. She ignored his approaches and promptly turned to give Cana her drink as well. Surprisingly, the woman had not been drunk yet, having already consumed a whole keg of the stuff and was still asking for more.

"Here, Cana."

"Thanks, Mira," she took her wine from the barmaid. "It seems you like that guy," she smiled coyly at her.

Mirajane raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"That guy from earlier?" Cana jogged the barmaid's memory, trying to get her to talk about the stranger.

"What guy?" Mira returned the question with another of her own.

"The wounded man at the supermarket? Surely you remember him, don't you?"

"What about him?" Mira asked the tarot card mage.

"He seems very important to you, isn't he?" Cana began.

_So that's what this is about._

"What makes you say that?" the barmaid inquired.

"Well, no one would scream and wail for a stranger that had been wounded like the way you did," Cana's voice had quavered at certain words, an indication that she was treading very carefully on the subject.

"He is someone I know," Mira calmly defended herself. "There is nothing wrong with being overly concerned for someone, is there?" she asked Cana, her usual sweet smile adorning her face.

"No there isn't," Cana breathed deeply before taking a swig of the wine. "I guess I'll talk with you later. Natsu looks like he wants to eat some fire over there," she pointed towards Natsu's direction.

"Thanks Cana. I'm sure we'll talk later," Mira smiled and waved as Cana turned her attention to her drink.

As Mirajane attended to Natsu, she looked up to see that the sun had almost begun to set and that dinner was almost due. She prepared Natsu's fire, looking around for Lucy and wondering where she had gone off to.

"Where's Lucy?" the barmaid asked the dragon slayer.

"No idea," he drawled before grabbing the plate of burning coals that were sprayed with extra kerosene.

"Mira," Happy flew down next to Natsu, "Lucy's with Levy and Erza talking about stuff."

"Oh?" Mira became instantly curious, thoughts forming in her head as to the topic of conversation. "What are they talking about?"

"I don't know. They were talking about some guy they saw earlier on the way to the supermarket when they were buying food. Did you see the guy?" the blue cat looked up at her with his trademark smile. "I think they were talking about you or something like that."

It was at this moment that a piece of debris came hurtling over to Natsu, hitting him square in the back of the head. The fire breather instantly turned around to see Gray holding a piece of rock and immediately assumed that it was the ice mage who threw the debris.

It only took a few seconds for another brawl to begin.

Mira smiled at the sight that was before her eyes as Erza's cake was toppled out of her hands, causing the Knight to fly into a rage and rain divine punishment on the fellows involved with the small upset of her sweet treat.

Mira took this time to prepare some food in a bento box and stashing it in a bag. Happy, who was nearby, had been completely oblivious to the barmaid for he was too engrossed in the fight to take notice of anything else. It was cute seeing the little blue cat's jaws drop at the on goings of the fight. The barmaid felt sorry for him that he was not able to join in the fun because of his small size and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Happy," she tapped him, getting his attention. "I'm going somewhere to deliver food. Want to join me?"

"Where are we going?" the little cat asked.

"To Porlyusica-san's house. Wanna come?" she asked.

"Will there be fish?" his eyes opened in hunger, giving him the cutest look she had ever seen on a cat.

"Yes" she smiled sweetly, winking at him.

"Aye!" Happy jumped up in joy, eager to follow Mira to Porlyusica's house to eat fish. The thought of eating fish at the old woman's house was rather strange but he did not give it a thought since his mind was constantly on the thought of fish.

Mira got the bag with the bento in it and made her way out of the view of her fellow guild mates with Happy in tow and promptly made her way to the East Forest, talking to Happy about his thoughts on the team that Natsu formed with Lucy, Gray and Erza.

"Natsu and Gray just constantly fight with each other unless there is something the two of them can fight together," Happy commented on his friend's team. "Erza's still scary since the Galuna Island thing but she seems to be on better terms with the two of them, Lucy's well… Lucy."

"Lucy's Lucy? I don't get what you're trying to say Happy," Mirajane gave him a quizzical look with a concerned smile.

"Lucy doesn't do much except scream and shout about her rent money before doing actual fighting with her celestial spirits," Happy recounted the instances of previous missions where the blonde actually fought.

"Tell me more about Lucy and Natsu's partnership later, alright?" Mira said as they saw the tree house in which Porlyusica made her home.

The unlikely two walked up the steps and Mirajane knocked on the door with the door knocker three times. There was a shuffling of feet inside the house just beyond the door. The two waited outside for a few more seconds as the old woman opened the door to "welcome" them in.

"I knew you would come by," Porlyusica grumbled, "and who said you could bring that cat?"

"Porlyusica-san," came a baritone voice from the infirmary bed. "It is alright with me."

Mira looked in the direction of the voice to see Ghost get up shirtless and weaponless from the bed and seat himself comfortably on it. She put her bag down onto the table and sat down next to him.

She saw that he had been bandaged around the waist rather tightly with a sash that wound across his chest and over his right shoulder. There was a little patch of red at the left side of his abdomen but he paid no attention to it. As she sat down next to him, he moved over to make some space for her.

"You look better," Mirajane commented at Vergil, smiling.

"So do you," Vergil returned her smile with one of his own, a slight change in his lips but his eyes had taken on a rather light-hearted feel to them.

"How's your wound? I heard that it was very bad," Mira asked, concerned about his health.

"I will live," Vergil replied, "it is not very serious in any aspect. Plus, Porlyusica-san fixed me up in no time."

"Who are you?" Happy had turned his attention to the recuperating person who had a rather long scar down the left side of his face, which also ran over his white blind eye.

"Happy," Mira reproached him. "It's not nice to regard someone like that."

"Oh," the cat looked down rather dejected, "sorry…"

"It is alright," said Vergil. "My name is Ghost," the young man extended his hand, "I am pleased to meet such a handsome cat as you."

Happy took his hand and shook it like a true gentlecat, having hopped onto the bed afterward, that is. The cat had noticed that apart from his facial scar, the man had a left arm that was completely prosthetic and scary looking in his opinion. The shaven head had given him the impression that he belonged to a monastery and was proven wrong by the way he talked to Mira and Porlyusica-san.

"Oh?" Mira suddenly remembered, "I brought food for you, Ghost."

Ghost had followed her to the table in the middle of the room and reached for her bag as Happy flew to the table's surface as the man took a seat. The old woman appeared with a bottle of medicine and a spoon for him to consume after his meal.

"After your dinner; two spoonfuls," she instructed.

"Yes Porlyusica-san," Ghost nodded as Mira took out a bento.

"Here. Eat," Mira opened the box for him and got out a pair of chopsticks for him to use.

"Thank you, Mira," he thanked her and began to eat. Happy stared at the food longingly before asking the barmaid for fish. She got up to head to the kitchen.

"No need," the man made a gesture for her to stay and talk, before giving Happy a rather large piece of his steamed fish.

"Thank you!" happy gratefully took the fish and plopped down on the table and began to savour the taste of the fish. "Mira's the best cook ever!" he squeaked with contentment.

"Happy!" reproached Mira, "that's not meant for you!"

Happy continued eating much to Mira's chagrin.

Ghost laid a hand on hers to stop her from berating the blue cat.

"He makes a very good point," said Ghost.

"What?"

"Your cooking is the best that I have ever tasted in my life," smiled the man.

Mira blushed at this, not knowing what to say. Ghost took the opportunity to gently pat Happy on the head with his left arm while continuing to eat the dinner that Mira had prepared for him. Following the patting, Mira saw Ghost fondling Happy behind his ears which made the cat purr.

_That's has to be the strangest thing I ever saw in my whole life; Happy purring? This man is totally the strangest person I've ever met and yet seems to be a total recluse. What is this man truly capable of?_

Ghost looked at her ocean blue eyes, knowing that she was thinking of something. He tried to gather her thoughts no matter how he would go about doing it and opened his mouth to talk.

"You are thinking something about me, is it not?" he asked her innocently, not knowing the true nature of her thoughts.

"How did you know?" Mira was shocked at his question as Happy looked at the two of them, wondering what they were talking about. Ghost continued to fondle the back of his ears so that the cat would not overhear their conversation and finish eating the pieces of fish that the Assassin provided to keep him busy, while purring in contentment, of course.

"I just know by looking at you," he smiled coyly at her. He put down his chopsticks after finishing his dinner and began to consume his medication with some water that he got from the kitchen.

"By looking at me?" she asked him as he came back to the table.

"Is there any other explanation for this?" he toyed around with his choice of words.

"I see what you're doing," she gave a sly smile which turned into friendly laughter.

"What am I doing?" he asked her jokingly. She responded with a gentle fist to his forehead, touching it.

"Ghost," Happy managed to get out of the Assassin's hand and sat down adorably on the table, "why are you so nice like Mira? Everyone else at the guild is either always fighting or quarrelling with each other, except maybe Mira and Master."

"Nice?" Ghost did not quite understand the cat's question.

"Yeah."

"I guess it is the way that we are born with or the way that certain events have made a mark on our behaviour I suppose. Why?" Ghost returned Happy's question.

"Because she's resting her head on your shoulder now," he pointed at her.

Mira knew that Ghost had turned his head slightly to look at her. She was on his right side, of course. Her head had been comfortably positioned on his shoulder and she felt like she was about to sleep anytime soon. Without giving him any warning she snuggled up against him as if giving him a strong hint about her feelings.

_Hmm… he smells good… Like sandalwood and the ocean breeze. His body is so lean, yet toned and a bit muscular like Gray's…but just soft enough to sleep on…so warm…_

"Mira?" Ghost whispered into her ear.

"Hmm?"

"Porlyusica-san is looking at you."

The barmaid shot up in her seat to see the old woman looking intently at her. She looked into her blue eyes with those red, piercing orbs.

"Cat got your tongue?" Happy quipped, suddenly breaking the tense silence.

"Happy!" Mira jumped up in shock and landed in Ghost's lap as the remaining three laughed. She glanced around before realising that she was in Vergil's lap before heavily blushing scarlet as the man took his opportunity to discreetly smell her hair before holding her by the shoulders and putting her back in her seat.

The three humans and one cat sat down around the table and began to talk about Mira's favourite topic: matchmaking. Slowly, she got Porlyusica to reveal more about her opinions about the several couples in Fairy Tail that she was thinking about pairing up discreetly. The three humans laughed together as Mira thought of Pairing Natsu with Cana, knowing that those two would never even work out within five minutes. Without realising it, Mirajane looped her arm with Ghost's, catching Happy's attention.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Happy**_

_Heh? Mira is holding Ghost's arm? Come to think about it, she does seem happier when he is around and when she's back at the guild, she seems more than happy when she's daydreaming… could this be the person that Lucy and Levy were talking about who was wounded outside the supermarket?_

_Maybe I should tell Lucy; but then Mira will kill me! No! I must keep this secret, even if Natsu tries to force it out of me! I will keep quiet. This secret will be my first real secret between Ghost, Mira and I and I will not let them down! Aye sir!_

_But if Mira-san behaves differently around him, it could only mean one thing…_

_She liiiiiiiikes him…._

_Does he like her?_


	4. The Balsamico Affair

_**A/N: hello world! glad to see that there are followers here! thanks for taking time to read this story and i hope i don't disappoint you with the next chapters that i have already planned and drafted! if you've been wondering why Vergil doesn't wear armour it's because he's too skilful for anyone to hit him, but even the skilful need protection sometimes...  
**_

_**! #$%^&*()_+**_

_**Magnolia**_

It was a fine morning in the town of Magnolia and business began as usual at the start of the day, along with several homemakers and the like going their rounds conducting morning shopping. Several of the townsfolk had already risen before the sun had been out to greet the day with its presence in the sky to do grocery shopping before majority of the town population began work, some having permanent jobs while others relied on the requests of others. It was turning out to be a rather normal day for Magnolia in general.

It was almost two weeks after the guild war between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord and things had toned down since then. Several of Fairy Tail were still in questioning over the events during the battle of the two guilds. Magnolia did not mind the fact that Fairy Tail was in serious trouble over a guild war that should have not been in the first place, so long as their favourite guild would still be around when things got tough. It was a trying time for the heir to the Heartphilia Konzern, seeing that she would be questioned the most concerning the cause and effect for all this. When the questioning had been finally done and over with, Fairy Tail began rebuilding with whatever that they could find and with the resources that the Magnolian townsfolk were willing to share with them.

All this was happening under the watchful eyes of the Assassins, ensuring that no harm came to Magnolia and her innocents when the Rune Knights were making their rounds on patrol. These white devils, as they were well known by their enemies, had arrived in Magnolia upon hearing about an Assassin's involvement with the guild war and had gone down to investigate the allegiances of the parties involved. Their search had produced no results and as such, a number of them made themselves at home in Magnolia, forging contacts and slowly building an underground network.

As usual, there were was always an eye on these events, paying attention to every detail.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

It was only just before dawn when the Assassin had decided to go out on his routinely morning exercise just before breakfast, running around town and testing out various climbing and running techniques as well as using weapons for navigational aid. He left his hideout, having made an improvement with his primary hidden blade and his rope dart.

Now, the rope dart was in his devil arm and could be fired across long distances, as well as still retaining that grappling hook function when it was drawn. The dart replaced the blade completely and was sharpened tenfold upon installation. The hidden rope blade, as Ghost now thought of it, could extend and retract using the same thought mechanisms that enabled him to fire his gun. The only difference was that to draw the blade, he still had to flick his wrist whereas for long distance grappling, he could think the command and use it immediately once his blade was out of his forearm.

It was only the first time that he was trying such a thing out on the streets of Magnolia; buildings, trees, and anything else in between were going to become his playground, not that he thought of it as such. From Kardia Cathedral, he fell into a roof garden that he had constructed on the sly before getting out and testing his hidden rope blade across the breadth of the road that made up Marcanoli Centre Boulevard.

_Alright, here goes…_

He shot it out and the rope blade impaled through the wall just opposite him across the street. It was stuck firmly into the concrete and the Assassin knew that the first step of his new improvement was a success. He then retracted it and was sent flying into the wall at a blinding speed, although still rather manageable for him and landed on the roof before yanking his rope blade free, creating a small crater lined with cracks and slightly exposed rebar as a result.

_I have to think about the technique again… the thing works great and I see no fault with it other than the fact that the extension speed and the retraction speed is a little too quick for my liking, but that can be easily solved._

He retracted the rope blade, this time at a slower speed but it was still quick enough for him to move about quick and effortlessly.

_This hidden rope blade may not work in all towns, especially like those of Oshibana. Well, at least the Assassins have reclaimed several of the towns and cities that were once crucial for the Templars to protect innocents. The cities that they have chosen to protect is due to the strategy of Lady Dina Bianca the White; some Assassin controlled cities being in the east and others being in the west. It may not look much but Crocus seems to be hiding a very important secret from the rest of the world._

_No matter. For now, all the Assassins should concentrate on doing are building ourselves up._

He leapt across an adjacent gap across the roofs before turning round a corner, looking down into Strawberry Street. This particular stretch of road was parallel with the river and many waterfront houses with great view were often the common wishes of families who wanted to enjoy a serene view of the river and still stay relatively close to Marketa, the market district. He continued running around along the stretch of road, trying to increase his already eternal stamina and his speed across obstacles, went for a little swim in the river which scared the daylights out of several water taxis and finally climbed up a pink house to dry himself off. From the roofs he observed the people as they were, watching grocery shoppers mull about with their groceries as they headed home just as several others were heading out for work on a Wednesday morning. He looked down, continuing to observe the townsfolk that he had grown to love and discreetly care for, before noticing a head of wavy white hair with a forward ponytail on top of her forehead, clad in a white t-shirt, black jeans, ballet pumps and carrying two paper bags worth of groceries.

He jumped down onto a sturdy beam, gaining the attention of the one and only Mirajane Strauss.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Mirajane wondered what sound it was before stopping and looking up, the sound having come from that particular direction. Upon inspection of the source, she found that there was an Assassin, the only Assassin that she knew, perfectly perched on the beam that was jutting out a few metres beyond Lucy's house window, just outside her bedroom.

_Lucy's house? Hmm… I wonder if Natsu is sleeping with her in her bed. I hope he managed to use the spare key that I gave him just in case he can't get in through the window…_

"Ghost!" Mira acknowledged him.

_Aha! I was wondering when he would turn up in Magnolia's streets after the guild war. Is he fully recovered? It looks like it; otherwise wouldn't he already be on the ground when he would be showing himself? What is he doing here?_

Her eyes fell on him as he dropped gracefully from his perch to the ground, landing in a three point crouch. She knew that he did not have any assignments as far as she knew and wondered what could he be doing out in the open at seven in the morning running across rooftops?

"Exercise," said Ghost simply, as if answering her. "I needed to stretch out a bit after being cooped up for a week." He walked over to her and relieved her of one grocery bag. "How is the morning so far for you?" he casually asked her, as if his drop from the second storey made no difference in everyday life.

"So far, so good," Mira smiled in reply. "What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

"I just exercise and test some of my new stuff for moving around," he answered her. He kept silent as always when it came to speech; never continuing the flow of conversation or bothering to explain what it was that he was doing. It was quite frustrating for Mira at first but after his recent visits, she had grown quite accustomed to it. She knew he would not talk just for the sake of talking, only if the need was important or he had some catching up with friends to do or an assignment was headed his way.

"Here?" she continued the conversation.

"Not exactly here. It is more like everywhere that I can see that I just follow my own pursuits," he paused for a little while, thinking about his next question. Mira knew it as well. For Ghost, his expressions were always difficult to read since his face was always hidden from the world.

So the next best thing was his body language.

It was extremely difficult to read but she would have never thought that all his actions began with a subtle warning often mistaken for a reshuffling of his position, like his head would bow at the slightest before thinking of a question, the way that he walked indicating that he was always careful to watch his back and respond accordingly and even the thorns on his left prosthetic arm had flexed and bent themselves in a particular direction to suit his feelings.

"Where are you headed?" he asked her.

"Back to Fairy Tail. Why?" she returned the question.

"I was just curious."

They walked on together, side by side down Marcanoli Centre Boulevard towards Fairy Tail as Mira thought of another topic of conversation.

"How are you able to climb buildings with so much ease?" she began.

"It takes years of practise and experience so someone as young as us to be climbing buildings like Kardia Cathedral. Not every Assassin is as good as me but then again, I am not the perfect Assassin that there is," Ghost told her, turning his head to look at her.

"So then," Mira readied her next question, "how does one train to be like you or to be of similar level? I know it's kinda hard to try but I'm just curious; how did you get so strong?"

"Is this not like a mage with magic?" he countered, "practice makes perfect and besides, I am not the strongest man when comparing myself to your younger brother, you know."

"Um…" she huffed, realising that he did not really want to elaborate too much on this. "How about those times when you sneak up on me and appear out of nowhere? It's not like you're a ghost who just randomly appears and disappears out of nowhere and everywhere all at once," she challenged him, her usual smile on her face, giving him the impression that she was just trying to be friendly and learn more about him in the process.

"It is more of an acquired skill, learning how to disappear from the eyes of your enemies. When you have done it as long as I have, it turns out to be very useful, even if there is a lot of attention on you," he replied. "You should try it sometime," she heard him chuckle softly as he suggested it.

"Do I have to pay you money?" Mira jested to have Ghost shake his head in response. "You know, for a non-mage like you, you are very resourceful and skilful. Not many people can disappear out of nowhere and bust a move; you know what I'm saying?"

The Assassin just casually nodded and continued on towards the direction of Fairy Tail.

_There is something about him; something that I have never felt in a long time… It's like the time when I had my magic before losing Lisanna…._

"…After a while, this easily becomes second nature," Ghost finished his sentence. Mira had been lost in her thoughts and had not paid any attention to him. They continued walking before he asked a rather simple question, yet difficult to answer except for a few who knew how the orders of guilds work.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"Would my line of work become difficult if I start building relationships with other people from other guilds? Let us say for example… Fairy Tail?" he asked Mira.

"The relationships don't need to be in the long term, you know?" she began talking. "It can start from just a joint mission between two guilds to having someone rest at the guild before going on their journey or continuing it.

"But all this needs a good leadership and an order from which peace and stability can be maintained. You know about the government and the Magic Council right?"

"Yes," Ghost simply replied, he cast a casual look behind him and saw several Assassins observing his every move under the instruction of a Master Assassin. The two chatted about the way that the current Magic Council was handling the mage guilds that had spread themselves all over Fiore. Only Fairy Tail stood out from the many, the cause being that they were the ones that Magnolia allowed sanctuary to give them a home in their town.

"Things have been better now that the Magic Council is gone," said Mira to Ghost. "At least we have peace and sometimes the townsfolk come and help us."

"Help? You mean with the rebuilding?" Vergil asked.

"Yeah," she mused," although sometimes we don't have enough to pay the suppliers for resources because of the guild's reputation for blowing things up or destroying them."

"So the rumours that I have heard are indeed true," Ghost commented.

"What rumours?" Mira quickly rounded on him, eager to know what he had heard.

"That occasionally on a job, there is always a huge degree of destruction without fail, especially when a certain Salamander is involved," he gave a slight chuckle.

"That always happens," Mira sweatdropped, "even when he is asleep. Happy tells me all the destruction that Natsu can make in a single night, although it is pretty much toned down since he's in his hammock doing the destruction."

"Really?"

"Sometimes Erza calls on him at his home," said the barmaid, smiling. "Of the rare times that he doesn't answer her, she breaks down the door and turns the whole place upside down before she can find him and bring him along on a job."

"That sounds…scary."

"Naw," Mira waved his statement off, "When you know Erza for as long as I have, she's not as scary as you think. Speaking of Erza, would you like to go on a date with her?"

The Assassin visibly sweat dropped, the drop of sweat visible on the back of his white hood.

"How did we come to this topic?" Vergil asked Mira, wondering about the flow of her thoughts.

"You started it!" Mira smiled at him innocently. Vergil knew all too well.

"No I did not. You started this."

In an instant, the barmaid's face had turned from jovial to dead angry. It seemed like a shadow was being cast over her face and her wide smile had been turned upside down. Vergil stopped to look at her as her eyes fixed onto him with a death glare.

"Sorry, did I anger you?"

"Yes. You. Did," her voice had taken on a serious tone, meaning that one should never question her at all times regarding her and her matchmaking.

"Then I am sorry for having said that," he gently pulled her into a one armed hug, suprising her completely.

It was awkward for her, he could tell instantly but he knew never to truly mess around with her feelings. Ghost could see her returning to her usual cheery self without her even knowing it.

They continued walking, Ghost explaining that a date was out of the question for him unless he was on a not-so-life-threatening job or assignment. She understood after having the Assassin explain what kinds of assignments that could constitute as a date.

Vergil knew that Mirajne would make a mental note about all these details and try at the very least to get a date for the Assassin, regardless of who the other Faery would be.

He walked into the construction zone just behind Mira as they chanced upon the members of Fairy Tail, running about and doing something that was not involved with destroying or breaking things. The two walked over to the makeshift bar with the groceries in tow and set them down on the countertop. Several Fairies stopped to look and watch Mira to see if this was her "secret boyfriend" that nobody, even Master, knew about. As usual, the Assassin was watching everything from the corner of his eye. He returned his attention to the white haired beauty in front of him as she made a motion for him to sit down.

"Have you had breakfast yet?" she asked him, concerned.

"Not yet. Why?"

"Would you like me to make breakfast for you?" she asked him.

"I have to pay, right?" the Assassin inquired.

"Yes," she told him, before moving closer to whisper in his ear, "but I can give you a little discount if you want." She pulled back and gave him a wink, which the Assassin knew had been caught by a rather drunk Cana in broad daylight. Nodding his head, he brought out the money to pay for breakfast, which turned out to be _tamago kake gohan, _as well as a glass of milk and another of orange juice.

"This is excellent," the Assassin commented. "I think I will have to come to you for breakfast, lunch and dinner from now on," he quietly joked. Mira beamed at his statement.

Vergil finished his rather simple breakfast with a silent burp, and wiped his mouth with a napkin under his facemask before saying, "I hear good reviews on a particular Fairy Ramen, Mira." He paused for a quick breath, "I would very much like to try that."

"Sure!" she beamed. "Next you see me, I'll make you one!"

Ghost got up from the bar stool and made to leave for his daily routines around the city like checking up on the Assassins Bureau before finding small jobs to do. Mira thanked him as he left, only to have Lucy enter the construction site and plop herself down at the bar.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Mira…" Lucy exhaled, almost letting out a cry.

"What is it Lucy?"

"Natsu and Happy again!" the celestial mage began to flare up at the thought of her two partners. "They always sneak into my house and sleep in my bed without me knowing! No kind of warning whatsoever and Natsu cleans my fridge of all the food before he sleeps!"

"He seems to have taken a liking to you," Mira commented. Lucy was too upset to hear her.

"Were they like this before I joined Fairy Tail?"

"Now that I think about it…" Mira rubbed her chin, pacing down the glass that she had been wiping clean. "No, he was never like that."

"UGH! Why always me?"

_Natsu and Lucy? Now that I think about it, they look so cute together! Natsu is the father and Lucy the mother and Happy can be the kid! And when they finally get married and have children, about thirty or so I hope, then the guild can be full of little Natsus and Lucys! That's so cute!_

_But how to get them together? Ah! I'll just have to push them in the right direction!_

"Mira-san? Is something wrong?" Mira heard Lucy just as she finished her little scheme.

"No-no Lucy, it's nothing."

The attention was then turned to the two mages who most often would constantly bicker and argue over little things.

"Them again?" Lucy groaned.

Natsu was carrying several wooden beams that were too long and heavy for him on his back. He was straining to get work as quickly as possible before Gray's eye caught sight of the dragon slayer, talking about how stupid it is to carry a load that is too heavy. As usual, Natsu challenged him to which the ice mage accepted. Gray took a load that was double of Natsu's initial load and was able to manage a few steps before being distracted by something.

Gray's head turned to a particular corner around the construction poles that were set up for safety to only catch a small glimpse of blue hair, dismissing it as Levy. The distraction caused him to lose focus, making his heavy load crash on top of him as Natsu laughed.

Mira saw Gray rounding on Natsu before the two immediately began quarrelling with each other.

"Mira-san?" the barmaid heard Lucy's voice calling for her attention.

"Hmm?"

"I'll be going off," the stellar spirit mage told her. "See you soon!"

Mira gave her a cheery smile as the blonde silently stole away from the guild, heading to wherever that she wanted to go.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_Mmm… Fairy Ramen… I wonder what it will taste like…_

"Going somewhere, Ghost?" Vergil heard a familiar voice coming from behind him and turned around to see himself face to face with Lady Dina Bianca of Gallowstown, a city on the western coast of Fiore.

"My Lady Bianca," Ghost bowed in greeting. "What brings you here to Magnolia?"

"What are you doing near the Fairy Tail guild?"

"My Lady," the Assassin spoke, "I believe I asked you first."

"Touché," the young woman smiled. For her to be the powerful noble that she is now without any man as her husband or wars to prove herself because of a recognised elite infantry force at her disposal was quite the responsibility and achievement for someone the age of twenty six.

"Walk with me," she told him.

They walked down Marcanoli Centre Boulevard and Lady Bianca began speaking in earnest.

"How goes the brotherhood here in Magnolia?"

"The Assassins that have been recruited are somewhat slow in their learning of the Creed but they are learning well. I assure you. The more recent additions to the brotherhood have yet to learn their many aliases that they can use under a great deal of trouble.

"Additionally, there have been many weapons of all kinds making their way into our possessions from the underground bases and holes that the thieves have been building. The local brothel has been getting the names of local Templars here as well as establishing a strong presence for the general population to come and patronise their businesses."

"What about you?" the Lady asked.

"I have been doing my own things regarding the Templars and other whatnots," Ghost replied. "There has been a dangerous increase in the number of Templars, many of them mages and many of our Assassins have no idea how to combat magic with skill. Until there is a way, the only way I am going to combat magic is with magic and I am now trying my means and ways to get it."

"And what if that fails?"

"Then I will hunt for the Pieces of Eden," Ghost resolved.

"The Pieces of Eden? Are you insane? With powers like that, there would be no need to fight Templars at all!"

"It would not hurt to try," said the Assassin. "I am sure the welfare of the brotherhood is not the only reason why you are here in Magnolia?"

A silence fell between the both of them before Dina quickly spoke.

"You are going to be a security escort for a Count's family heirloom and his daughter a few days from now."

"I do not understand."

"Alright," paused Dina before continuing, "The Count's daughter is turning seventeen, which means that she is eligible for marriage within the royal circles. This Count will only marry her to the strongest man who can rise above the competition and claim her hand."

"How does that work?" Ghost asked.

"The man who wants to marry the daughter would have to be the first to get the Count's family heirloom," Lady Bianca explained. "Reason why he wants security is because he fears peasant and pariah involvement. His family tradition has always been to marry the daughter to the strongest noble every seven years and he sees fit to challenge every noble who will attend his daughter's magical ball."

"There is still one thing that I do not understand," Ghost cut her, "why is this assignment given to me? Any other Assassin recruit can take this job easily enough for quick experience."

"Do you remember Count Balsamico and Aceto?"

"Oh."

_That sour and unpleasant man? What in the world does he want with a cold blooded killer like me? And why the hell do I have to do security and escort service? That man cannot even take care of himself physically!_

"Let me explain!" Lady Bianca held her hands up to try and coax the Ghost Assassin although he was not physically life threatening as of that moment. "It was because of a business negotiation that was arranged rather abruptly to connect the railway lines between the east and the west! However, when he arrived at my mansion, all he met was the White Legion!"

_Ah, the White Legion. Fiore's most elite voluntary infantry corps even the Rune Knights and Blue Dragon Regiment, not to mention the Custody Enforcement Unit, have had a hard time subduing even the minuscule squads of Legionnaires. Commonly known as the Assassins to the allied thieves and courtesans and often confused by our enemies with our many aliases, this cover of an official corps under the royal family allows us to be able to move about freely under the Templar's watch as much as we can._

"Needless to say, he was rather impressed with how the Legion trained in my mansion. I never knew that he had intended it for using us as his personal bodyguard," Dina said. "After the business negotiations, he asked me for a favour, hoping that he could borrow the strongest of the White Legion for a specific event. He didn't explain to me what it was but I'm pretty sure this is it."

"Excellent," Ghost groaned, albeit sarcastically.

"I know that this is just a waste of your time but can you do it? The Count himself will give you more information if you choose to accept this assignment."

"Yes, my Lady," the Ghost Assassin replied. He was shortly given a request flyer and given instructions to pack for his stay in the Count's mansion. The magical ball is only three days away as Ghost reads it to himself back in his hideout. He begins packing a duffel bag with a few rounds of hidden gun ammunition just to keep himself occupied, along with several tomes on various kinds of magic, as well as an additional bracer as a last minute item.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Mira!" the fair haired beauty turned to face the guild master who sat on his workbench, just near the request board a little to the side of the bar.

"Yes Master?"

"Did you hear about Count Balsamico's daughter's engagement?" the spritely old man gave her a wink.

"Count Balsamico? Who is he?" Mira asked him as she served Cana her keg of beer.

"A very wealthy nobleman who wishes to marry his daughter to the strongest and noblest mage that he can find at his own magical ball!" Makarov gave her a smile that reminded her of his rather dirty old man tendencies.

"What about the Count?"

"He needs a cook who can prepare five dishes for hundreds of people," Master told her.

"What about the other guilds?"

"They mentioned something about his demands being too unreasonable but I'm sure this is nothing that you can't handle," the Master turned his attention to the piece of log that he was cutting, waiting for Mira's opinion on the job request. She took the request down from the request board and her eyes scanned for any crucial details that the Master may have missed.

"Master," she called him.

"Hmm?"

"Who will run the bar when I'm away?"

"I was thinking maybe Cana could do it," Makarov contemplated before returning to his sawing.

"I think I'll take this job," Mira declared out loud before getting the job registry log and signing the request under her name. Ever since the incident with Lisanna, Mirajane had never taken on any jobs that had required a small amount of violence. To her, those days of beating other people senseless were long gone and nothing or no one could ever persuade her to go on a dangerous mission.

With her eyes falling back onto the request sheet, she noted down the requirements expected of her and saw that the response deadline for the job would only be three days from now.

Placing the job registry book back at its designated place in the bar, the barmaid got out a piece of paper and began jotting various recipes and dishes that she knew would satisfy royalty, much less nobility, and found that she had some planning to do. From there her mind began to wander…

_I wonder if I'll be able to attend the magical ball and dance like a princess. Ooo? I wonder who my prince charming will be! Will he be strong? Handsome? Gentlemanly? I wonder if he will ask me to dance when the music begins to play! Oh that is so romantic and fairytale-ish in so many ways!_

Mira gave a small squeal in excitement, startling Team Shadow Gear and making Levy jump in shock.

Not that Mirajane actually cared about what was going on around her, even if Macao was ordering his drink in the hot sun.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Magnolia**_

It was rather late at night when Ghost had arrived at Magnolia train station to Balsam Town, a little town that was a day's journey west of Magnolia. Knowing that the Count would not want to be kept waiting if the Assassin wanted to see his face sour just because of punctuality, Ghost boarded the last train out of Magnolia at this late hour, a book about the royalty and nobility of some of the most wealthy families and establishments in Fiore in his hand.

Being this late at night, there were not many travellers heading in the direction that the Assassin was going, much less any commuters that were going off at this rather late hour. A train conductor watched the hooded man board one of the train carriages toward the back of the train, knowing that the chances of being interrupted by anyone or anything were very slim. The man clearly knew how to travel and it did seem to the train conductor as the train rolled off that that particular man in white was up to something dangerous.

Magnolia was rather peaceful at this time of the night, even at Fairy Tail. The guild was still in the rebuilding phase but as of late there were less frequent hollers and shouts around the area for there were requests and jobs for the mages. Most of the mages had gone on jobs, Titania and Salamander included, leaving behind the master and a few other mages who were more or less able to carry on with some of the work, although at a slower pace.

Work for Mirajane had returned to normal, serving drinks and logging in who did whatever job that they wanted to do. Day after day she was handling requests and serving food and drinks to many people, not to mention talking to people she did not even know or a random interview from the weekly Sorcerer. She knew that ever since Elfman had gotten his full Take-Over powers back, he went on frequently for more jobs so that he could earn some extra money and experience to support his elder sister.

Given that he had recently heard about this job that she was going to, he was adamantly defiant against her going to Balsamico Castle all by herself. Call it his brotherly instincts but ever since the war with Phantom Lord, he always made sure that he kept a watchful eye on his sister, not wanting ill of her just like he had failed to protect his younger sister Lisanna before.

Mira had reassured him that she would be perfectly fine on her own given that it was a castle that she was staying in, full of soldiers and knights and handsome nobles (and hopefully several princes).

That was enough for him to trust her but it did not stop him from hysterically bawling his eyes out ("It's MANLY to send your sister off on a job!") next to Cana the early morning when Mira left Magnolia for the job. Several people were caught staring at the big man who made no attempt to hold back his emotions as Mirajane and Cana patted his arm to calm him down, reassuring him once more that nothing ill would happen to her. Cana reassured Mira that the bar and the guild would be safe in capable hands while she was away but she made no promise to the welfare of the several kegs of beer, whiskey and wine.

Mira boarded the train at the front with a simple luggage bag as well as her handbag and greeted the many people who recognised her.

She found a compartment that was empty and reviewed the recipes that she was going to use for the magical ball before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep, dreaming about fairy tales and handsome princes.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Balsam town**_

Once out of the train, Ghost was immediately identified by a young man with a rather large afro cut.

"Hey! Legionnaire!" the young man called with a wave of his hand. "Over here!"

Ghost walked over to the young man with the job request in his left hand. The young man introduced himself as Velveno, the son of one of Count Balsamico's servants. Velveno's position within the castle was a rather mediocre one but he told Ghost that he would soon be promoted to become Aceto Balsamico's personal manservant, after having grown up with her since her childhood days.

"Congratulations to you," said the Legionnaire. "I am here under the orders of Lady Dina Bianca to respond to whatever queries that the Count would need help with."

"Really?" said Velveno. "He only mentioned about one of the White Legion coming down here to grace his presence at the magical ball in honour of Aceto-dono. He kept on going about how he had swindled Lady Bianca into letting her borrow the strongest of the Legion for such a grand occasion."

"I beg your pardon," Ghost cut him off, "swindled my lady, you say?"

Ghost could see that Velveno was inwardly cursing himself for letting that piece of information out. "Apologies, it was a slip of the tongue."

"No worries," Ghost replied. "It happens."

"Thank you."

"Are we waiting for anyone else here?"

"There is still a woman who is expected to cook for his lordship but her response only arrived this morning saying that she would only arrive in the late afternoon, a little bit before dinner," Velveno informed him.

"Then let us set off," said Ghost, motioning his left hand toward the exit.

Together the two men made their way to a small carriage that was just parked outside of the train station. Ghost began wondering what would be expected of him when he reached the castle that belonged to Count Balsamico.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Balsamico Castle**_

"We have arrived at the castle gates, um-"

"Ghost," the Assassin looked out of the window out of the corner of his eye, "No need for formal titles and whatnot. Just "Ghost" would do."

"Yes, Ghost."

"You do not have to be so formal and uptight about everything when you are talking to me," said Ghost. "It makes me feel like a complete arsehole."

"Okay then," Velveno relaxed his shoulders and exhaled, grateful that the act that was ordered by Count Balsamico had become ineffective and pointless for the White Legionnaire.

A silence followed them as they passed through the gates and were held by the knights that were guarding it. Once they had recognised Velveno with the Assassin, they let the carriage through, the sound of wind and the trees nearby falling serenely on their ears before it stopped at the foot of a hill and a path leading up to the queerest of castles that Ghost had only seen once before under the entourage of Lady Bianca. The Assassin hopped out of the carriage window, feeling lethargic that he had not been able to run about for so long, given that he was in the train for most of the night.

"What would you like to do?" Velveno asked.

"Do you not have other duties to attend to?"

"I only need to answer your every question before you meet Count Balsamico later," Velveno replied. "We should be moving quickly so that you know what happens on around here."

"Alright then," Ghost spoke. "Please bring me to see the security of the castle."

"As you wish," Velveno gestured up the path towards the castle and Ghost began walking up the hill. He saw numerous knights and militia making their rounds by patrolling up and down the path as well as a considerable distance from the castle in a circle.

The Assassin recognised several of the faces that had become castle security. He saw a patrol of former Rune Knights walking about and wielding staves. Of the group, Ghost remembered fighting against them over the western conflict about four years ago, when he was fifteen years old. That conflict was a long and bloody one that lasted a whole week of nothing but fighting and killing Rune Knight after Rune Knight before the Blue Dragon regiment had sauntered in and nearly wiped the White Legion clean from the south western mountains. That battle was fought at the now abandoned old fort that was cleverly hidden in the mountains and many historians had dubbed the week long battle as the "Battle of Great Fortitude" and named the location "Old Fort". Hundreds of Assassins had perished there, as well as thousands of Rune Knights and Blue Dragon soldiers individually. It caused a rift between the three warring sides and the anger could still be seen by the looks on their faces as Ghost passed them by.

Turning his attention back to his task at hand, Ghost began observing the different hiding spots and quick escape paths that a person such as himself could think of using to get in and out without being detected. There was a particular tree in the garden just by the front door that had a branch outstretched towards a window on the third floor that had a gap a small child could easily jump across with no difficulty. The Assassin looked up at it, not knowing that Velveno had looked up at the tree as well.

"Ah, the memories that come with it…" sighed Velveno in bliss.

The Assassin did not have the heart to question his reminiscing and decided to let him linger on before moving inside and exploring the castle. However, Velveno began talking to him about his childhood with Aceto, the Count's daughter, and talked about the many times the two of them had fun as young kids climbing up the tree and into the house like "little ninjas" as his father affectionately named them.

"You seem to be very close with Aceto-dono," Ghost observed from the young man's ramblings.

"I was close with her until her father allowed several men to come here and court her," Velveno replied rather dejectedly, his voice revealing hints of poisonous hatred that Ghost had experienced before when he was much younger and more gullible then.

"You are in love with her," stated the Assassin calmly.

"I'm never going to deny my feelings for her, and no one will make me say that I don't!" the young Velveno declared out loud. Ghost had to cup his hand over the manservant's mouth so that both of them would not get found out by the Count himself.

"Careful," warned the Assassin, "You do not want to start shooting yourself in the foot before you can walk."

"Thanks for the save," Velveno exhaled. It was apparent that he had nursed this soft spot for her for a very, very long time.

"Just keep your head down," said Ghost, his advice registering seconds later in Velveno's head. "How is it that the two of you met each other?"

"Let's go in the castle and then talk about it."

"Go in?" the Assassin raised his eyebrows incredulously, which Velveno could not see behind the facemask.

"Is something wrong?"

"You have a lot to learn, my friend," Ghost told him. "The walls have ears. To talk, we need to go on a long walk, particularly where there are not many people around, like the castle garden for example."

"Oh, I never knew that at all!" Velveno's eyes lightened up at the piece of advice. He was going to earn something from the Legionnaire and find out if the White Legion was truly as lethal and cunning as every word that rumours were flying around about them.

_After some time…._

"My lord," Velveno spoke as Ghost took a seat in front of the Count who sat in his daughter's lap opposite him, "this is Ghost of the White Legion, which Lady Bianca of Gallowstown sent for the magic ball."

"Excellent!" the small man chuckled to himself. The action was caught by the Legionnaire, who sat still and pretended that nothing happened. The Assassin made a mental note to deal with him later.

"Ghost, isn't it?" Aceto's small voice was directed at the Assassin. "What is your real name?"

"Ghost," the Legionnaire simply replied. There was no way that he was going to reveal sensitive information to anyone anytime soon.

This rather simple answer made the Count rather huffed up and it was evident on his face when his mouth puckered as if he had eaten something sour.

"Do you have noble blood in you?" the Count angrily asked.

"My lord, please calm-"

"No," the baritone voice of the Assassin spoke, demanding silence. "I can answer this Velveno, there is no need to say anything in my defence."

"No one said anything about defence!" Aceto blurted.

"Not yet, but very soon," Ghost replied. Turning his head to look Count Balsamico in the eyes, he said, "I never knew if I had any noble blood in me since I was born and I would not even care less about it now. Even Lady Bianca did not ask about my social status when I joined the White Legion; to her, everyone started afresh on a clean slate."

"When did you join the White Legion?" Balsamico asked.

"Are you the strongest as Lady Bianca promised?" pressed Aceto.

"Can I inquire more about this assignment?" the Legionnaire's voice had begun to slowly rise in temper. Velveno knew it was dangerous for the both of them, having known the Legionnaire for a full hour or so and that tone only being used for ten seconds when a former Blue Dragon stood up to him. A simple warning did not suffice in that situation and the poor Blue Dragon ended up with a broken arm shattered family jewels.

"I advise my lord to stop pestering the Legionnaire, sir," Velveno shuddered. He remembered how Ghost had dealt with the unlucky soul earlier, not to mention how large the Blue Dragon was compared to the Legionnaire.

Silent, quick and deadly, like a snake.

Silence fell on the four of them in thought. Ghost was unfazed by the fearful looks that he was receiving as he sat forward and drew his hidden dart and sharpened it with his personal dagger. It was very effective for a fair warning not to mess with him; even the rattling of armour could be heard at the doorway where two knights were guarding the exit.

"I need to know why I am here specifically," Ghost spoke calmly once more, still sharpening his weapons.

Count Balsamico was the first to snap out of fear.

"All you have to do is to protect my daughter and the Balsamico heirloom from anyone and anything from now until the end of the magical ball," said the Count rather shakily.

"Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"That's all."

"Then I will take my leave," said Ghost as he stood up. "I suggest that you leave me alone if you want your knights to stay in tiptop fighting condition."

With that he walked out of the door with Velveno trailing behind him, offering to show where his living quarters would be.

"That was the most badass thing I've ever seen in my life!" Velveno gaped at the Legionnaire. "No one has ever stood up to him like that! Have you got balls?"

"Is it not that I have balls but more like I do not have any," Ghost replied with a chuckle. "Either way, having balls do not matter. What really mattered was how much dignity I was willing to spare."

"Dignity?"

"It seems that I do not have it," Ghost exhaled, "either that or I have lost it." Velveno was visibly confused by his sentence, not knowing what to make out of it.

The both of them walked out to the castle garden and saw a guest house right at the end of the plot of land. They continued walking out across the magnificent garden and reached the lavish guest house after a while.

"Your room is on the first floor," said Velveno as he showed Ghost inside, "someone else will be sharing a room with you in due time. However, due to the number of guests we are expecting, you may find that your roommate will not necessarily be a man. Have a nice day." Velveno bowed out as Ghost returned the greeting.

The Assassin was about to open the door to his room when he heard a small voice calling him.

"Ghost!"

He knew it was Aceto and he turned to face her as she slowed down from the running she did to catch up with him.

"I'm sorry for what happened earlier," she began, "my father is very uptight when it comes down to nobility and royalty. He thinks it's the most important factor of his life. He always tells me that having nobility in my blood is the most important and that I should not taint it by mixing around with other people who are non-noble."

"Aceto-dono," Ghost spoke calmly, "Blood is blood. It is a thick red liquid that can be contained or spilled by anyone who is given the choice and condition to do so. There is no such thing as special blood, only lineage. So if your father thinks that his blood is different from any other person, let me tell you that he is wrong. The only way he can survive on that thick skull of his is to ensure that there is still blood pumping through that sour heart of his and I do not care if he takes another life just to ensure that he stays alive. Next time your father tries to insult me, the White Legion, Lady Bianca or all of us, I assure you that he would have made an enemy that he would have regretted making in the first place."

"Why you-"

"Have a pleasant day ahead of you and do not bother me," the Assassin emphasised on the last four words as he entered his shared room and placed himself in the bed nearest to the window before falling asleep.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_Mmm… what a soft mattress…_

_I wonder who the invited chef is?_

_Zzz…zzz…zzz…._

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Hmm… Six 'o clock," Mira hummed to herself as she got off the train with her bags while looking at her watch.

It was getting late and there probably wasn't enough time for her to get dinner at the ramen shops this late as people were mulling about looking for dinner.

_Dinner this early? I really cannot imagine what time they sleep…. However, this is a cultural town after all and with many attractions and sights to see, no one is complaining about the life here in Balsam town._

Mira walked out of the train station and looked around to see if there was someone waiting for her to pick her up. She had arrived slightly earlier than what was mentioned in the letter which was written by Master and it did not help that the train was getting crowded due to the impending rush hour.

By some luck she found a bench and quickly sat down on it to rest her tired body, unable to catch some sleep on the day's ride from Magnolia. A yawn escaped her mouth and she covered it quickly like the photo spread model that she was. So far, there was no one to pick her up from the station and from the looks of things; she would not have to worry about anyone scaring her anytime soon.

_Just a five minute nap before they come._

Mira closed her eyes and sunk into the bench as well as crossing her arms across her chest. Her attire was well modest enough for her to sit cross legged, given that she was wearing a white t-shirt, black skinny jeans and ballet pumps.

**Five minutes later…**

"Excuse me," came a young man's voice, slightly younger than her, "excuse me, are you awake?"

Mira felt herself being gently shaken awake by a person. Her eyes opened to meet with a dark skinned man with a huge afro cut.

The fair headed woman was momentarily shocked to see a huge ball of hair on someone's head before collecting herself to get a proper view of her surroundings.

"Who are you?" she asked the man.

"A servant of Count Balsamico. My name is Velveno, personal servant to his daughter, Aceto Balsamico," the young man replied.

"Count…?"

"Balsamico."

Realisation hit her almost immediately as she remembered the name. She rummaged through her hand bag and took out the job flyer.

"I'm here for the job of guest chef!" she smiled at Velveno. "Oh? Where are my manners? My name is Mirajane and I come from Fairy Tail. Pleased to meet you, uh-"

"Please," the young man smiled in return, "call me Velveno."

"Velveno," she let the name roll of her tongue before it registered fully in her mind. "Shall we go?"

Velveno gestured toward a carriage that had been waiting for them just by the side of the driveway. He escorted her in and made himself comfortable before filling her in on most of the major details that he knew.

She was told about how her dishes needed to be different from the usual head chef of the castle and that they had to be better than what the Count ate on a daily basis. Also, she was subsequently informed that Aceto's personal guard for the magical ball was already within the castle compound and was currently taking a rest after having travelled through the previous night.

"What is this personal guard of hers like?"

"He is on loan from Lady Bianca of Gallowstown," replied Velveno, "for the occasion, she let the Count borrow the strongest of the White Legion."

"THE White Legion?" Mira gaped. Count Balsamico certainly had very high connections, even with one such as the Lady Dina Bianca herself.

"Yes," said Velveno, "and you will have to share a room with him due to the large number of guests that we are expecting."

"Oh," Mira understood.

Throughout the journey to Balsamico castle, there was some interaction between her and Velveno, mainly because of her eagerness to attend the magical ball and dance with someone who she expected to literally sweep her off her feet. Right in front of Velveno, she swooned at the thought of any man coming to her to ask her for a dance.

"There is still Aceto-dono, Mirajane-san," Velveno snapped her daydreaming fantasies back into reality.

Mira was, for a lack of a better word, sad and it was all because of Velveno. She did not hold anything against him but he clearly knew not to get on her bad side after this particular instance.

It was dinner when the carriage arrived at Balsamico Castle and the young servant offered to help her with her luggage. The barmaid was then led through the castle to the exterior garden that looked absolutely stunning and magical in her eyes. Right at the end of the garden was the lavish guest house that Velveno had been telling her about earlier. It was more of a mansion in Mira's eyes but she did not mind staying on the first floor with a complete stranger who was probably involved in the Battle of Great Fortitude four years ago with losses on the major powers. Safety for her welfare was already being taken care of as well as the standard of living. The quality of life here in the castle would be another matter completely up to her.

Velveno led her into the guest mansion and showed her where the kitchen was first so that she could begin preparing her dinner. She stayed in the kitchen as Velveno rolled her luggage to her shared room, only to find the door locked from the inside with a well-placed chair against the doorknob. He headed back to the kitchen, leaving her luggage bag behind at the door and saw how she was already cooking up a delicious meal.

The smell of curry was wafting through his nostrils and immediately Velveno felt a pang of hunger, finding himself in need of good food. Without warning, his stomach growled like a wyvern most often seen on Mt Hakobe. The sound attracted her attention and she laughed out loud before telling the manservant that she made already thought of extra food just in case the Legionnaire was hungry or he had not eaten his dinner yet. With a spoon, she allowed the young manservant to take a scoop of curry to try before kindly shooing him away from the pot when he tried to steal more.

Realising that her cooking was far from done, Velveno proceeded to head back to the castle to check on Aceto's whereabouts as Mira began preparing the slightly vinegared rice.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

The people outside did not know it but they had woken him up on the wrong side of the bed, literally. Waking up once he heard the noise from the nearby kitchen, he instinctively turned on his side to have his face planted into the wall just below the windowsill.

It certainly woke him but it also made him rather shocked before his temper started to realise itself. He got up from the bed and made his way to the door to go and give them a piece of his mind before hearing the silence that signalled that the little ruckus outside the room had stopped.

Thinking about what he was about to do, he stopped before his left hand turned the doorknob, deciding against his initial reaction and headed to the toilet to wash up before heading out into the castle grounds to look for Velveno regarding his meals.

Once we was done and had exited the toilet, he heard the very same ruckus that had roused him earlier as well as the addition of the peasant aroma of curry. Hearing his stomach growl, he silently opened the door and made his way to the kitchen.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Is the Legionnaire awake yet?" Mira asked Velveno as he entered back into the kitchen to check on Mira's progress and secretly hoping that he would be able to taste her cooking before anyone else.

"I don't think so," he replied, "I'll go and check on him now."

Just as he said that, Mirajane heard silent footsteps approaching the kitchen before a white hood came into view.

_The Legionnaire! Did we wake him up accidentally?_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

He was still groggy and kept looking down to the ground before arriving at the kitchen to meet dead silence except for the clinking of bowls and plates. He sat himself down at the kitchen counter and placed his hands on the table, before rubbing his face with his left hand.

"Ghost? Is that really you?" the Assassin heard a sing-song voice that he recognised immediately.

He looked up to see Mira cooking dinner and smiling brightly at him. "Mira? You are the invited chef?"

"You are the man from the White Legion?" she asked in return.

"Well, yeah," the replied at the same time together. Their response sent each other into a fit of giggles, making Velveno unsure of what was going on and confusing the daylights out of him.

"Wait," the manservant called for order. "You two know each other?"

"Seems very unlikely, doesn't it?" Mira smiled. All Velveno could do was gape openly at the Legionnaire and the barmaid, his jaw literally opened wide and unable to grasp how two different people could know each other, especially when they were polar opposites in almost everything imaginable.

Ghost was enjoying Velveno's look of total confusion, as if his world had been turned upside down for someone else's benefit just to see him the way he was right now.

"Ghost?" Mira called him, "Come and sit at the dining table and help set the plates, bowls and cutlery."

As if by response, his stomach replied with a loud growl as he got up, making it Velveno's turn to laugh this time.

"The Legionnaire has quite the appetite! Are you sure you can feed him well tonight Mirajane-san?"

"No problem!" the white haired beauty beamed. In a flash the pots that contained the rice and the curry were set down on the table, surrounded by two sets of dinner ware per person before Ghost and Mira began tucking in, purposefully ignoring Velveno in the process as they enjoyed their dinner with the accompanying lemonade that she brought from Magnolia earlier.

With that, Velveno proceeded out of the guest mansion and quickly made his way to Aceto's chambers to inform her of this rather interesting spectacle that had just transpired before his eyes.

As Ghost ate his dinner, he knew what was going on in and around the castle compound, having secretly placed surveillance lacrimas in every possible corner that he could think of and linked all the feeds to his left arm with an encrypted channel. It was mainly for emergencies but this time, it was entertainment.

"Mira, have a look at this," Ghost urged her as he opened his left palm and several holograms appeared forth in the form of Aceto and Velveno, both of them in the former's chambers.

"-really? How do you know that?" Aceto was seen raising her eyebrows at Velveno. The holograms were placed in between Vergil and Mira, who were intently watching what the noble was thinking.

"They were greeting each other jovially and it seemed that they keep in close contact with each other; I don't know how, Aceto, but it seems that these two are very close friends," said Velveno.

"Do you know anything about their relationship?"

"Not at all."

"The Legionnaire seems very knowledgeable but not strong and Mirajane is rather smiley about everything isn't she?" Aceto questioned her manservant.

"It seems that way but the two of them come from opposite realities," Velveno made a point. "It's a puzzle wondering how it is that they can click together without any effort and still go back to their normal lives afterward!"

"That is not true," said an amused Vergil, "my life was never normal to begin with." He finished with a silent chuckle before turning his attention back to the surveillance feed. Mira laughed at his statement, wondering how on Earthland he managed to rig the whole place with lacrimas without the Count knowing at all.

"They seem to have a perfect relationship!" Aceto arrived at her own conclusion; her gestures signalling an indication that she had no idea of what the relationship between the Legionnaire and the barmaid.

"AH! So confusing yet so perfect!" Aceto wailed in frustration as Velveno kept silent, trying to piece together this puzzle in which many of the jigsaw pieces were missing.

"Nobles," laughed Mira and Vergil together.

_At least we can agree on something for now…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Vergil turned off the lacrima hologram feed and they resumed their dinner, a silence falling over them. Mira could not tell what the Assassin was thinking after the particular outburst from Aceto-dono but it did not stop the white haired woman from reflecting on the noble's words.

"_They seem to have a perfect relationship!"_

_What does she mean? It's not like we are attached to each other or that we are lovers. We're just friends! We're friends, right? Are we JUST friends or have we become something more without even knowing it? Then again, am I over reacting to such a comment? Should I talk to Vergil about this?_

"Something on your mind?" said person that she was thinking about had broken her train of thought, having noticed that she had not finished her dinner as quickly as he had expected her to. She removed herself from her thoughts as he got up from the dining table to wash his plate and dry it on the dish rack.

She finished her dinner and proceeded to do the same, after which she kept the extra food in a pot for Velveno should he come and check on them one more time before he retired for the day.

Both Mira and Vergil walked back to their room, the Assassin opening the door for and letting her in before closing the door shut and heading to his bed and removing his weapons and leather armour that was protecting his torso and his right arm and completely forgetting about his facemask.

"Hey," Vergil voiced his concern, "something on your mind? I noticed you were a little bit distracted earlier after that video feed."

Mira thought about it for a while, deciding whether she should answer or not. He waited patiently for her response as she thought long and hard about a decision to ask him about, well, them in a relationship.

"It was something that Aceto-dono said earlier," said Mira carefully.

"What was it that made you so pensive?"

"That we had a perfect relationship."

"Ah," Vergil gestured knowingly, his back lying against the windowsill. "I had a feeling you would be thinking about that."

"You did?" she asked her male peer out of annoyance. It seemed that he knew certain things when it came down to behavioural patterns in the first ten minutes when they had first met.

"You were saying something about us having a perfect relationship?"

"Oh, right," Mira collected her thoughts. "Is she right? I mean, are we a couple? Velveno told her that we clicked with each other so well that he thought we were close friends."

"Does that matter in a relationship? I do not know either," the Assassin spoke.

"Can we become a couple?" Mira's thoughts escaped her lips before she had a chance to think through her choice of words.

"A couple?" said Vergil. "I suppose we could try it out for a while but relationships happen over the course of time right? I think we should just dance at the magical ball to see if we are indeed what Aceto thinks we are."

"I don't know…" Mira bit her lip. Inwardly she was cussing at herself for suggesting such a thing that she knew would be a bad idea before Ghost had suggested the dance.

_What am I doing…? There's no way that Vergil can be the man that I'm looking for right? I can't possibly start a relationship with a hired killer who knows practically what can happen to anyone in the next ten seconds!_

_But I like him! I cannot deny the fact that he has made my day without attempting to cheer me up or strike a long discussion about his personal love life like all the other guys out there who are crushing on me. Why is it so hard just to confess my feelings for him?_

_His job is the dangerous one! If I fall in love with him there is no doubt that his enemies will use me as leverage to get to him. How any enemies does he have? If it is a whole organisation then he will immediately reject me because of his concern for my safety._

_Does he even like me to begin with? Since the first day that we met he has been nothing but secrets and sneakiness about this subject! It's so hard to find out from his face because it is always hidden by that facemask of his! He is just so difficult to read!_

_Is he just going through with this to make me happy or does he like me? At least this is one good friend that I want to keep with me forever…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_I know she likes me. It took me a while to see it for what she truly meant that day when I was critically wounded but with the aid of a little blue cat, I realised that she wanted something more than just friendship._

_True, with all the hints at Porlyusica-san's house and the rather heavily discounted meals at the Fairy Tail bar, it should have been more obvious to me but I thought she was doing it playfully or that she found out that my monthly pay was dependent on the purses of the rich that walked past me in the streets._

_Happy had told me of how Mira sometimes had little money to spend on herself since she was the only person who was running the bar and handling the job request board. On top of that, there was often a weekly photo shoot with the Sorcerer magazine that made just about enough to cover the monthly bills, of which Eflman had contributed much to the utilities spenditure. If it were up to me, I would have already given her some money to help her along._

_But what about me? Do I like her? Let alone love her like she loves me?_

_Well, to begin with, she is beautiful, pretty and sexy all rolled into one body. Her face is like that of an angel, regardless of what she is thinking of or how she feels. Her eyes are so…captivating, like she wants me to tell her how I really feel about her._

_But what are my feelings for her?_

_Well, I do love her._

_But there are so many things that are preventing me from ever hoping to be married to her like the Assassins' guild! Her safety would be compromised and that is something the creed would not allow, even if she can fight with the deadliest magic she knows. I have already risked compromising the brotherhood with my meeting her at random points of the day and introducing myself to her at that particular assignment. Even if the creed allowed the innocents to compromise the brotherhood, the Templars would use her as a means to get the Pieces of Eden by holding her hostage and forcing me to go on a hunt for them._

_There is no denying it; I love her, but lady Fate has already thought of ways to get us to realise our feelings for each other much sooner than I had expected._

_What a cruel joke to play on two confused people, Fate._

Vergil removed his mask after watching her closely to wash up for bed. As he passed her on his way to the bathroom, she gave him somewhat teary eyed look that reflected the confusion within her. He gave a smile, hoping that it would ease her mind of things before entering the bathroom and closing the door.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Without thinking, she reached for his duffel and rummaged around for the codex that he wordlessly guarded with his life. Pushing several clothes and books aside, she found it at the bottom of the bag and took it out before placing it on her lap and muttering several words to it.

"I am a friend who knows the three tenets of the Assassin's Creed."

There was a sound like a sword being slowly drawn and Mira opened the book at once to see many well hand written words filling up the pages. She turned to the contents page and found Vergil's personal entries and flipped the pages to his latest personal entry.

"If only there was a way to fly numerous people across great distances instead of a train or a car or bus then I would not have to sit in this carriage doing nothing which helps the creed in any way. This assignment has me worrying though, the one about Count Balsamico. Did he threaten Lady Bianca into letting her "borrow" an Assassin just to see if there are loopholes in our defences? Getting the best of the Assassins is undoubtedly difficult but I am sure there is a reason why she chose me to get it done and over with. There seems to be more than meets the eye about this contract assignment and I have a feeling that it is not going to be pleasant for me at the very least." Ghost wrote in the codex.

"Vergil travelled during the night? That is so like a wanted serial killer," Mira commented to herself, noticing that he had not written anything at all regarding today's date. Flipping back the pages to the beginning of his life when he could read and write, she saw how he had been brought up personally by his father, a "Ghost Assassin" within the Assassin ranks. Truth be told, she had no understanding of how the Assassins operated but it was definitely interesting to know about this creed that Vergil had mentioned once or twice before when he came by to talk.

That prosthetic arm of his was also another of her concerns, not entirely knowing about how the Assassin had acquired it over his life of nineteen years. It was sad, yet somehow intriguing that someone as old as herself had already become a master Assassin, killing without a single hint of remorse and lying through his teeth as if it were part of everyday life. The way he moved was also an interesting aspect too when he was on the roofs or vaulting himself over railing and banisters. That body of his was, not to say the least, attractive compared to the more powerful mages that she had met but it was riddled with scars all over but of all the horrific scars that she had seen on his body, the long one on his face was the most severe that she had ever seen on anybody. That long scar from his temple to his jawline was deep, and that former wound had made his left eye blank and white. It made Natsu's scar on his neck look like a pinstripe. Vergil still had many years in front of him and Mira knew that he would continue in his line of work, the only thing he knew how to go about doing it. She looked down at the book and began reading the first documentation of Vergil's life, accompanied by a rather crude drawing with swords and knives wielded by a man in a white hood. Next to the grown man was a young Vergil, holding the codex in his little hands.

"Daddy says this book is mine now," Mira read to herself. "He says that the book will teach me the things that daddy forgets. Mommy doesn't seem to like the book at all when daddy is holding it but she hates daddy for giving it to me. It's just a book, right?"

It was at this point that she felt a warm hand on her shoulder before a slightly stubble chin rested on it.

"What are you reading?" Vergil's gentle voice whispered in her ear. She shuddered at the breath that fell onto her before moving away and turning to face him.

"Something the matter?" Vergil asked, concerned.

She pointed at the little boy in the picture. "This is you isn't it? And this is your father?"

"Yes."

"Did you know?"

"Know what?" his head bobbed to one side in confusion.

"That you were going to become an Assassin?"

"Then? No, I did not," he replied. "That was when I was only four years old, able to read and write fully. My understanding was not fully developed at that time so I just went with it. The word "Assassin" was very far from my vocabulary."

"Do you regret it?"

"How can I regret the only life that I have ever known?"

She read the next entry that was pretty much the same as the one before but the drawing of him this time was bruised and slightly scraped at the knees.

_Daddy is happy that I am able to hold a sword but I don't like it. I like the very short sword that he let me hold onto before asking me to fight with the long one. Maybe he'll let me use the short one tomorrow._

"Is this the side of Vergil that I've never seen before?" Mira silently asked herself.

_So he does have a preference for certain weapons above others but what is his favourite weapon?_

"Mira?"

"Yes Vergil?"

"It is time to rest," he said. "We do not want to be caught sleeping on the job, do we? You can read the codex tomorrow; you need to sleep."

"But-"

"Please?" he gave her a cute beseeching look, one that she had never seen before plus the cute kitten eyes were too irresistible to resist.

"Okay," she relented after a few seconds.

"Go and wash up for bed. We'll talk again tomorrow, okay?"

Mira got up and headed to the bathroom and took a nice warm bath. By the time she came out smelling of lavender and wearing her usual pink nightdress, Vergil had pulled the covers up to his abdomen and was sleeping with his hidden blade nestled tightly in his left hand. Occasionally, he would unconsciously withdraw his hidden blade back into its sheath.

_Is he asleep?_

Mira walked over to Vergil's sleeping from and watched him carefully before being certain that he was asleep. Without another thought for her actions, the barmaid slowly pulled off the covers and slid into his bed, hugging him and feeling warm and at peace before pulling the covers back up. Her head rested on his right shoulder (his entire left arm, including the shoulder, is extremely lethal prosthetic) and her arms wrapped themselves across his toned chest.

_Something that Fairy Tail doesn't have is peace and tranquillity. This man does._

Her soft, gentle hand felt his beating heart and it warmed her body greatly. She smiled just as she fell asleep, Vergil pulling her into a one armed hug unconsciously, his hand on her naked back.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Balsamico Castle**_

Ghost woke up with a start, before looking straight and having his face brushed by a white ponytail. He slightly jumped, waking the sleeping beauty on his chest.

"How did you get here?" Ghost whispered.

"Vergil," Mira groaned sleepily, "don't move. Let me snooze for a few more minutes."

"Alright," he softly replied. "A few more minutes then."

She closed her eyes and snoozed a bit more and he felt the weight of her head rest on him. His arm was already wrapped around her and he felt her smooth and flawless porcelain back, drawing ovals with his hand and arousing himself in the process.

"Vergil?"

"Yes?"

"I'm feeling something underneath me," she said.

"Apologies."

"Mmmm," she groaned softly.

"Time to get up now," announced Ghost. He looked out of the window to see the sun rising.

Mira hobbled out of the bed before a very alert Vergil, who was behind her to steady her on the way to the bathroom. The both of them brushed their teeth sharing the same sink and the same cup, neither of them having obligations of spreading the same kind of germs with each other.

They each took turns to take a bath, Mira going first so that she could prepare breakfast for the both of them. Ghost quickly lathered up after Mirajane exited to help her with breakfast. Once he was out, fully dressed, fully armed and into the kitchen, he set the table and waited for the Fairy Tail barmaid to serve the food. She served the food with her usually demurely chipper personality and they ate breakfast together, discussing about the upcoming preparations for the next day's magical ball.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_Time to exercise._

"Thank you for the breakfast Mira!" thanked Vergil as he exited the door and into the castle garden.

He walked into the middle of the garden and looked up at the castle ramparts, cleverly disguised as large teacups that were suspended over the main courtyard. Looking from the ground all the way up along the interesting castle walls, the Assassin saw what he had seen on many buildings for the past fifteen years.

He ran at a section of castle wall and ran up, his left arm swinging up and clamping down on a brick that jutted out, before pulling his weight up and grabbing hold onto a suitable handhold. His legs were bent, ready to spring up onto whatever foothold that was within his reach. He leapt up and grabbed a bar that jutted out of the wall, reaching the third floor of the castle. Using the windows to climb further up, he caught glances from several of the servants that had walked past the window and garnering the castle knights' attention.

"You! Get down from there!" shouted the knights that saw Ghost outside of the window, climbing even higher towards the eighth floor of the castle, the observation tower that was a giant teapot, pouring tea down into the giant teacups.

The Legionnaire ignored the order and continued climbing up. He continued climbing up until he met with a very far landing, too far for him to jump and catch with his hands. He hung there thinking for a minute about how to climb over before remembering he had a hidden grappling rope dart that conveniently doubled as his primary hidden blade. He extended a bit of rope before twirling the grappling dart, letting it gain momentum before releasing it at the edge of the landing and securing itself.

Once he was completely sure that the rope dart's many grappling hooks were secured, the Assassin let himself fall the entire length of rope, stopping just outside the window that he had been earlier.

"You again! Get down from there! Guards! Guards!" a knight commanded Ghost.

All the Legionnaire did was wave a casual goodbye as the mechanisms in his left forearm pulled him up the length of rope towards the landing.

As he pulled himself up, he saw several strands of hay that were collected on the edge just a few metres away from him. Pigeons were resting on that spot where the hay was before Ghost looked down in instinct to see what he could use to land once he had climbed to the top. What he saw were many thick bushes in the garden.

_Close enough, at least I do not have to take ten seconds to find where I can leap safely, _he thought. Looking back up, he found that his climb to the tip of the tower had become rather easy.

He turned to look at the rope dart in his hand, deciding that a new climbing technique was in order.

He focused on a particular handhold that he wanted to reach and shot it out silently at a lightning fast speed. The grappling hooks on the rope dart ejected out and sank their teeth into the wall, lodging the dart firmly in place.

Ghost retracted the dart, pulling himself toward the handhold in double quick time, hanging comfortably on his hands and feet before resuming his climbing. He met with another window on the sixth floor and this time it was the window of Aceto Balsamico's chamber room. He never peered into her room as he climbed his way up but he did hear a shriek from deep inside the room, one that almost caught him by surprise. He knew this this because he had almost lost his grip on the window frame and fell backwards. Another shriek followed after his reaction and he steeled himself before looking through the window to see who was making so much noise in the early morning.

_Aceto Balsamico. I think my day has been ruined. Hopefully it is not as bad as I think it is…hopefully._

The climb to the top of the castle was uneventful. Ghost reached the pinnacle of the teapot tower and synchronised with the hills that surrounded Balsam town. To be honest, he felt that the view of the town was spectacular but it did not have the lustre of Magnolia nor could it even compare to the merchant city that he had called home. He positioned himself, perfectly perched as he enjoyed the sun's rays illuminating his hood as he felt the warmth coursing through his body in the early spring.

"Hey! Legionnaire!" the Assassin heard a voice from below calling him. He looked down to see a young knight with a lance glaring daggers up at him.

"His lordship Count Balsamico asks that you meet him in the palace garden within the next minute or he will disgrace Lady Bianca!" yelled the knight.

The Assassin slowly looked back up as if he did not care. However, he was looking for the garden and began counting down from sixty. He could see everything from where he was perched, including where Mira was in the guest mansion where she was cooking dishes for the Count's approval. Outside the guest mansion was the Count and his daughter, the Count impatiently tapping his foot while waiting for Ghost to arrive.

Spotting a great many large bushes in the garden, the Assassin leapt.

His arms were outstretched like a swooping hawk while his legs were one in front of the other, both straightened. At the height of his leap, he flipped as he fell, his back facing the ground and his limbs splaying about to increase drag as he shot straight towards the bush that was conveniently placed behind the two nobles. He landed with a soft thud and emerged out of the bush rather silently, giving the impression that he had teleported himself with the use of magic. (Teleportation is still not possible over long distances in Earthland; neither is it entirely effective over short distances, hence the lack of teleportation grids unlike the ones in the former Phantom Lord HQ.)

"You had asked for me, Count?" Ghost whispered behind the two, making them jump.

"WHAT THE-"

"Papa!"

"Hmph," Ghost smirked. The smirk on his face turned into one of cautiousness due to Aceto's look of greasy admiration that caught his eye.

"You," the Count threatened him, "are going to spend the entire day taking care of my daughter's wellbeing with the utmost importance of your dignity on the line. If you toe the line in any way, I will make sure that you will regret it and be disgraced in front of Mercurius palace. Am I crystal clear?"

"I dare you to try me," the Assassin growled, his voice dangerously lower than his usual baritone. He flexed his left hand for extra effect, letting the mechanisms inside his forearm be heard. It drove Aceto into a state of fear but for her father it had momentarily disabled his movements, his legs almost turning into jelly.

"You just stay with my daughter," the Count ordered.

"I suggest Velveno accompany your daughter for today, my lord," Ghost's voice was slowly turning hard and emotionless.

"Please," Aceto spoke, "stay with me for the day. Anything can go wrong during the preparation for tomorrow."

Ghost chose not to say anything, following Aceto into the guest mansion's kitchen, its dining table full of an assortment of food.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"Um, my lord?" Mira turned from her work on a chocolate mousse to see the Count seated at the dining table with a green bib around his neck, Aceto standing behind him and looking at the various dishes and Ghost standing at one of the corners of the kitchen, near the exit to the room that she and the Assassin shared.

"So, what have you prepared for the magical ball tomorrow evening?" asked the Count curiously.

"Well, for dinner I would suggest having some Carbonara pasta," said Mira, wondering why the Assassin was trying to hide himself in the corner. At this time, Velveno came into the kitchen, his nose clearly being the reason for his appearance. His growling stomach gave him away as he sat down near Mira, who was taking out the mousse from the fridge to see if it was cold enough.

"Carbonara?" Aceto asked her.

"Cream pasta, with a raw egg mixed into the hot cream," Mira replied.

_She doesn't know how to eat Carbonara? Isn't she a noble? That is just incredulous._

Mira got out a fresh egg and cracked it over the bowl of pasta that was in front of the Count. When the egg had fallen out of its shell and into the bowl of Carbonara like a waterfall, he began mixing it into the cream sauce evenly and impatiently eating it soon after, making Velveno drool.

"This is good stuff!" praised the Count. "Aceto, try some!"

"Please, I want Ghost-san to try it first after his morning exercise; he must be hungry," said Aceto out of concern.

"If you wish but what about Velveno?" the Legionnaire asked.

"The castle chef will feed him, no matter," the Count dismissed the poor manservant.

"Papa!"

"Fine," relented the sour man, "he can have a bite. But ONLY a bite."

Grateful, the young Velveno pulled the bowl toward him and obediently took a large bite off the fork. His body immediately relaxed in response to the heavenly taste and his tongue slipped out the fact that Mira's cooking was much better than the castle chef's, earning him a stare from Count Balsamico.

"Ghost?" gestured Aceto.

Ghost silently walked forward, slightly tensed but as soon as the fork was in his hand, a fraction of the bowl's contents were gone, shocking even Mira. He left the fork in the bowl and returned to his corner before Aceto picked up the fork, faced the Legionnaire and licked it clean in an innocently sultry manner. Mira, Velveno and Ghost caught her in the act but did not say anything to her father.

_Who does this…girl… think she is?! Doesn't she know that Vergil cannot marry her? He's not even interested in her to begin with! Sure, even a man who can climb a castle like this without a rope and harness would have gained my attention, admiration and a little bit of affection but this doesn't make you eligible for him just by being noble!_

Mira looked over from Aceto to Ghost, who was very tense but stayed perfectly still, his fingers outstretched and his feet were positioned in his relaxed fighting stance. She could tell that the Assassin was greatly repulsed at Aceto's actions but was unable to do anything unless he was attacked. Mira knows that Ghost is holding his anger in before looking at Velveno.

Velveno on the hand had a downcast expression on his face which he quickly hid to avoid being seen by Count Balsamico.

Mira knew at that instant that Velveno had developed feeling towards Aceto a long time ago. She supposed that they were childhood friends but now Velveno had taken notice of Aceto's beauty and wanted it to become something so much more. However, it did not help that her father was a stick in the mud when it came down to social statuses and that he was only her servant in reality. With that in mind, Mira saw Velveno sighing his way through the food appraisals until he could not stand any more of Aceto's flirting at Ghost, before leaving.

"I am going to the restroom," Ghost spoke. He made his exit quietly, not making a sound for untrained ears.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_Damn that asshole. If only Lady Bianca had been a little harsher at Count Balsamico, I would not be in this state of new found fury._

_I need to cool down._

_And explain to Velveno about this misunderstanding._

Ghost sneaked out of his room window and into the back lane of the castle alleys before his senses caught the path that Velveno had used to get out of the guest mansion and into the castle. He silently followed the trail and it led him to the castle gates, his target almost out of the compound and heading towards the city below the cliff side.

"Velveno, wait," called Ghost. The young servant continued on walking, still harbouring hate towards the Legionnaire.

"I said wait!"

"SHUT UP!" Velveno swore loudly at Ghost, turning to face him.

The Assassin continued to approach him, ready for any reciprocation from Velveno.

"Hear me out, Velveno," said Ghost. "It was Aceto's feelings towards me that made you like this, is it not? I do not love her and I will never love her, even if it is life or death on my part-"

"SHUT UP! SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Fine! Since you do not want to hear the sugar coated side, I guess I have to be direct then!" Ghost spoke softly, his temper rising.

"Aceto Balsamico is repulsive."

Velveno roared in anger as he charged forward at Ghost, blinded by fury. The Legionnaire raised his arms to fight, before the manservant casted a spell.

"Magical Drain!"

Ghost did not feel anything happening to him but he was rather surprised when Velveno skidded to a halt and cursing loudly, not knowing what he had supposedly "drained" out of the Assassin.

"What the hell is this magic?"

"What magic?"

"This stupid vision that I can't see properly with!" Velveno seethed.

"Only I know how to use what is rightfully mine, Velveno," Ghost lowered his arms.

"If magic can't be used, I guess I'll just have to use my fists!" Velveno raised his fists, curling his fingers tightly.

"You do not want to do this, Velveno. I have been fighting longer than you have been walking," warned Ghost. "No matter how hard you can try, there is no way that you can touch me in your current state.

Cool down and hear me out."

Velveno stood there with his fists raised but he did not do anything, keeping his eyes trained and zoned in on the facemask of the Legionnaire.

Ghost relaxed but he was still alert for any foul play that the young servant would try. He then spoke, "I did not come here to steal Aceto from you. Even if I would, I would have already done it in secret behind her father's back and possibly run off with her to Crocus. This is all a misunderstanding Velveno, caused by her own flirtatious ways right in front of her father who holds her as the apple of his eye. She will probably not turn over a new leaf until someone confronts her with it.

Furthermore, I am a pariah. There is no way in Earthland that I will be eligible for her in any circumstance whatsoever because of her social upbringing. There is no interest in my life for one such as flirtatious as her and since I have no chance because of my blood, I suppose you now have a better chance than any other noble vying for her affections. I hope this misunderstanding will not sever our friendship?"

Velveno gaped at the Legionnaire's words. Him? A pariah? It was not possible even for Aceto to think upon this. The reason that he was hiding his social status in front of the Count had been abundantly clear to him now. It was all for the dignity of Lady Bianca, who would be ridiculed as a fool for holding a pariah in such high regard. The manservant looked down in shame before muttering an apology.

"People make mistakes. Even I make the silliest of mistakes," Ghost patted Velveno's shoulder. "Now, I have some business to attend to regarding a young and flirtatious noble."

With that, Ghost and Velveno parted ways, the Assassin heading back to the castle to see Aceto waiting for him in the antechamber leading into the main hall.

"Where were you?" she asked him.

"I went to the restroom earlier as I said," the Legionnaire replied.

"No you did not!"

"Well then, what did you want to hear?" asked Ghost a little sarcastically. "That I sneaked out of my room to find Velveno and talk to him about you and your flirtatious actions earlier before getting into a fight with him and telling him that it was a misunderstanding between two men?

Because that is exactly what I did."

"That look was only meant for you! You were supposed to take off your stupid facemask and smile back!"

"Not everything happens the way that you want it to, Aceto," Ghost spoke. Several of the servants were watching this rather interesting display in the antechamber and wondered if the Legionnaire was going to do what they thought he was going to do.

"What do you mean Ghost?" quivered Aceto.

"You know exactly what I mean," the Legionnaire growled low very threateningly.

"I don't know what you mean," she taunted, poking her finger into his chest. Ghost did not retaliate physically, but offered a last warning before he broke her.

"Spell it out! Now! I order you to!"

"I. Do. Not. Love. You," said the Assassin. "There is already someone else that has taken that place in my heart and it is very unlikely that another can take her place."

"WHAT?!" Aceto shrieked, causing the servants to jump out of their skin. "WHO IS SHE? I'LL SHOW YOU THAT I CAN BE BETTER THAN HER! TELL ME!"

"Never," replied Ghost defiantly. Right in front of him, Aceto flew into a rage and swung her fists at him. The Assassin casually sidestepped every strike from the girl and watched her in her frustration to get at him, only meeting the empty space around her. This pattern continued on for a while and not long after, she soon fell asleep just as Velveno entered through the front door, seeing her haggard form before carrying her back into her room for her to rest.

At this, Ghost promptly left in his anger, heading off to God knows where.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"So, my lord," asked Mira nervously, "how is the chocolate mousse?"

"This-this is excellent! Who ever knew that a mage like you could cook just as well as the chefs of Mercurius?" he gleefully scooped the last of the mousse before greedily eating it, much like a little boy with a bagful of sweets before dinner.

"What about the dishes that you were assessing earlier?"

"Just as excellent." Count Balsamico placed the cup back onto the table and patted his stomach, full of contentment and very good food.

Needless to say, the Count's lunch was a very heavy one and a particularly fine one at that. Mira felt especially proud of herself and began washing up the table immediately after the Count left the guest mansion. Ghost came in shortly after and his body language told her that he was still seething with anger with the day's events so far. She decided to keep quiet, having never seen this side of Vergil before and not knowing what to do about it.

Seeing him retreat into the room, she returned her attention to the plates that she was washing before the slamming of the door could be heard. Turning around, she saw Vergil, this time with a spell book and his codex with him in his left hand while a pen was being suffocated by his right. He sat himself down swiftly at the dining table and began to read the spell book, looking across the pages with lightning speed.

Mira had no clue of what the Assassin was trying to accomplish but continued with her plates. Just as she was done, she could hear murmuring and turned her head once more to see Ghost trying to cast a spell silently, having the codex open to make notes.

Seeing that she had a whole free afternoon to herself before the hectic day tomorrow, she decided to get certain souvenirs for her family back at Fairy Tail; not just Elfman but Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Erza and a few others to name who she felt were close to in the guild. Getting ready to go out, she dressed herself casually in a t-shirt and jeans with ballet pumps and got her handbag before leaving for Balsam town, wondering what the Assassin was up to.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_Heaven's Eye? What kind of spell is that? How does this help me?_

" _~Heaven's Eye~_

_Heaven's Eye is a form of Eye Magic which allows the user to see over long distances, giving them the ability to see through solid objects, thereby allowing one to track enemies with relative ease."_

_Seems legitimate enough._

_Alright, here goes…_

Vergil muttered the spell that he had just read, before flashes appeared in his normal vision. With that sudden change in vision, he jumped in shock, not knowing what to do, since he was born inadequate with magic.

There were different kinds of magic as Ghost had learned after his parents passed on when he was only thirteen years old. There were dark magics, light-based magics, elemental magics, sword and firearm based magics, ancient magics, Lost magic and the fabled One True Magic.

_It works. It actually works._

_And it works with Eagle Sense as well! Woohoo!  
_

He did not know it but what really happened was that the spell had become one with his Eagle Sense, heightening his senses exponentially and allowing him to track targets at a longer distance as well as to see the start point and end point of a target or enemy's journey. In addition, he had a wider radius of sensing incoming danger in any direction.

He decided to test his newfound ability to see through walls and across great distances with his enhanced Eagle Sense. Getting up and heading to his room's window, he looked out toward Balsam town which was a half hour walk to the town gates but a five second drop from the castle cliff down into the historical culture district.

Looking out of his room window towards Balsam town, he saw many different dark silhouettes that made up a huge mass of his vision. The only different things that were of interest were several red silhouettes and only one blue figure along the "white" river that Vergil recognised. Mirajane had taken a walk along the river that ran through Balsam town, enjoying the sights and the atmosphere that was present around that region or so it seemed to Vergil.

It was heartening for Vergil to see that at least Mira was enjoying herself before Aceto Balsamico's engagement ball tomorrow. He continued looking at her person in Eagle Sense, its effect unwavering with time and her gait had somehow calmed him down and made him more receptive and alert to his surroundings.

He sat on the window sill looking out at Mirajane before two targets were highlighted in gold just a kilometre behind her. The Assassin wondered what in the world the two men far behind her were being highlighted for. Then, they two targets blinked red, then gold, red, and then back to gold.

Ghost got up from the window sill and looked down the cliff to see a rooftop garden and leapt immediately without a second thought. He knew the intentions of the people before they could act toward him.

This time, it was the actions of other people toward another person.

It felt strange to him but now he realised that Mira was in danger and she did not know it.

Emerging out of the roof garden he sprinted towards the general direction of Mira and her two prospective assailants, leaping over gaps in between the roofs and vaulting over low lying objects. A wide gap soon made stop in his tracks before he ran straight ahead, jumping at the ledge.

He swung his arms to gain momentum and drew his hidden blade before shooting it at the farthest ledge that he could see in a straight line ahead of him. The grappling hook cum hidden blade flew true and struck the brick with penetrative force. Ghost then retracted the rope and with that his exit was fluid and near flawless.

He ran all the way under he caught up with the two but it seemed that he was a little bit late in apprehending the two targets who had followed Mira into an alley. The Assassin knew that Mira would realise that she was being followed, seeing that her fame and beauty would cause her to be easily recognised. It was apparent that she had discovered the two of them and was trying to shake them off to no success.

He was on an adjacent rooftop that had a clear path should he decide to perform an air tackle.

"Hey!" he heard the two men, "aren't you Mirajane from Fairy Tail? You look hot."

Ghost could see that she was receiving very lecherous looks which clearly repulsed her.

"Let's go somewhere and dance the day away!"

Ghost pounced on the target that was behind the other. It was silent but the man screamed out as he was knocked out, his head being met with the concrete ground.

The other target turned around to see that his friend had been incapacitated by a random stranger while Mira had released a cry of relief.

"Who the hell are you?!"

"One who you should never cross," said Ghost, not taking the risk and pouncing on the target, elbowing him in the head and knocking him out.

As he stood up from the bodies of the fallen, he faced Mira.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked her gently.

"No. Thank you for rescuing me Vergil," thanked Mira, hugging him. "How did you know that I was going to be in danger?"

"Instinct," he simply replied as he let her go and led her out of the alley and into the main street. The crowds had begun to wane in number due to the fact that the sun was setting and night was threatening to make an early appearance.

"We should head back to the castle Mira," said Vergil.

"Dinner then?"

"What about the famous Fairy Ramen made by the famous Mirajane?" the Assassin asked her cheekily, his sudden change in tone throwing her off balance.

"I never expected you to remember that promise! I meant that as a joke you know?" Mira raised her eyebrows.

"Really? I guess then that the joke is on you," he gave a small chuckle as the two of them headed back to Balsamico castle. He could tell that she took the joke in good stead and that he meant no ill feelings although his choice of words was misplaced.

"That's not how you use the phrase, Ghost," she told him.

"Sorry about that," he sheepishly scratched the back of his hood.

"It's okay," she smiled back at him.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

"That was the best dinner I have ever had in years," Vergil sat on his bed, his clothes and armour hung up on a mannequin just by the bedside table. He was wearing shorts to bed.

"Thank you," Mira beamed. It was nice to know that her efforts were being genuinely appreciated by people other than her guild mates or job contacts. Mira sat down on the chair at the dressing table and had already washed up for bed, now making sure that she was comfortable under the pink lace lingerie dress that she wore that exposed her back until the navel. She brushed her hair while looking at Vergil's reflection in the mirror, watching his purple eye dart across the room occasionally for signs of intrusion.

She inwardly laughed at his obsessive caution, knowing that a long time ago he was only a little boy who wanted to learn and become the greatest person that he ever wanted to be before the Assassins began teaching him their Creed. The Assassin's Creed had made him into a better person; some would say for all the wrong reasons.

He was in essence a young man who had yet to figure out his place in the world, just like Mirajane herself but was exceptional in what he had been raised to accomplish from the very start.

That was the only thing that the both of them had in common as far as Mira could tell.

"Something on your mind again?" she heard Vergil asking her softly.

"Yeah."

"Care to share?"

"It's just that there is only one similarity between the both of us," she replied with a smile. "It a little bit deep if you know what I mean. You? You look like you had something to say."

"Me? Well, it is not something that is easily shared simply because the topic of conversation is just so random," Vergil gave his next few words some thought before exhaling and beginning to speak.

"It was about Aceto this morning," he said calmly.

"Aceto? Her behaviour is-"

"You do not have to agree with me on almost everything-"

"Vergil! I'm speaking," Mira reproached the Assassin. He comically muttered an apology before allowing her to continue. "Her behaviour was unacceptable this morning but what I don't understand is what happened that made her fall so far for you! Sheesh, let a woman talk next time would you?"

"I apologise!" Vergil stood up and formally bowed his head, making Mira crack up in laughter.

"But there was something that happened this afternoon between you and Aceto wasn't there?"

"I broke her heart. She cannot love me," Vergil calmly argued.

"Why not?"

"Why should I? I have a free will to exercise my decision making," he out on a sarcastically blatant tone.

"Did you do something this morning that would have attracted a lot of attention?"

"Well," Mira saw Vergil putting on his thinking expression, "I remember climbing the castle to the top and randomly bumping into Aceto's window along the way."

"That must have been it," Mira said with an air of understanding.

"I do not understand."

"There are certain things which make a woman attracted to you, like your immense dexterity for certain weapons or like how you climb buildings with perfect ease or how you treat other people or like how you fight other people with perfect ease," she tried to explain.

"You have seen me fight before?" Vergil shot her a surprised look.

"Just now," she replied.

"That was not fighting," said Vergil. "That was a sneak attack."

"Oh, okay," Mira sighed as she got up from the chair and proceeded to sit on her bed. "Will I ever get to see you fight?"

"Hopefully not," the Assassin immediately replied.

"Why not?"

"I do not hesitate to kill and my fighting skills are dirty, even for a one on one battle," said Vergil. "That fight with Erza was nothing but that would be the closest that you have ever seen me to actual fighting. Maybe you will get to see fight one day," he gave her a small smile a confused look in his eyes that were hard to catch.

"Back to the topic, why were you climbing the castle so early in the morning?" asked Mira.

"I was exerc- Oh."

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"Why is it that there are certain things that men do that turn women on?" asked Vergil to Mira.

"Every woman is different," Mira informed him, shocked that he did not know.

"Why is it that my climbing can turn women on?" he asked her like a child would. She gave a small laugh before answering patiently the way she knew her mother would.

"Vergil, even I do not know the answer."

Vergil looked slightly downcast at the answer but he accepted it nonetheless. He tried to work a logical explanation about the behaviour of women before deciding against it, knowing that he would never understand the mind of a woman, even if he thought he did.

"If you do not mind," he spoke to her in a curious manner, "what are the things that turn you on?"

He did not know whether it was the right thing to ask, since she immediately blushed scarlet and steam began pouring out of her ears.

"What?! You don't ask a girl what turns her on or what makes her attracted to you!" Mira blushed, turning away from Vergil. "You have to find these things out for yourself!"

"Oh. Sorry," Vergil deflated before deciding to lie on his bed and turn in for the day, leaving the lights on should Mira choose to do anything further before retiring. Mira laughed at his reaction as he closed his eyes. It was only moments later that she switched the lights off.

He lay there in the moonlight that shone through the window and wondering about tomorrow's magical ball that he was supposed to take care of. It seemed like any normal job at first but there had a sudden hitch in the plan that Count Balsamico had originally had for him.

Earlier, when both Mira and Vergil returned to the castle for dinner, the Count was patiently waiting for the Legionnaire to come back from wherever that he went, hoping to have a chat with him.

_~ Earlier ~_

"_Ghost! I need an urgent word with you in private," called the Count just as the barmaid and the Assassin walked through the front door._

"_What does he want?" Ghost cursed under his breath._

"_Just go and talk to him, I'll wait for you in the guest mansion's kitchen before we make some ramen together, okay?" said the barmaid softly to Ghost._

"_Alright," he obeyed her and began walking towards the small and sour man._

"_I need your help regarding the magical ball tomorrow," the Count cut to the chase in a hushed tone. "Will you please help me?"_

"_What happened?"_

"_The grandfather clock mechanism is broken and there is no way that I can repair it without enough time and spare parts!" the Count wailed._

"_What does a clock have to do with the magical ball tomorrow?" the Assassin inquired._

"_THAT clock is the only thing that can release my daughter in marriage! The Balsamico tradition of letting a man rise above the ranks for the daughter of age is going to be broken by me if I don't do anything about it! My family heirloom is in that clock and there is no way that I can get the clock to work seeing that the gears have become blunt and smooth!" the small man flung his arms in the air, defeat written all over his face._

"_What is the point of calling me here if you are going to wail and weep in front of me?" Ghost huffed before crossing his arms and turning away to head to the guest mansion._

"_Wait!" the Count called after him only to have his plea fall on deaf ears._

"_I want to ask a favour from you! Can you please help me?"_

_The Assassin stopped in his tracks and turned around, not sure whether to take it as a joke or as an honest request._

"_What do you want?"_

"_Can you please take the place of the clock? I'll let you do whatever you want," the Count's puppy eyes trick was utilised on the Legionnaire but Ghost did not fall for it, the Assassin's cute kitten eyes were much better in his own opinion._

"_Whatever that I want?" the Legionnaire checked again._

"_Whatever."_

"_You owe the White Legion as huge favour since I am doing it to save your family tradition," Ghost threatened him. "You might do well to remember it at the very least."_

"_And you will not lay a finger on anyone who is within your employ for the wrong reason; otherwise I will hunt you down the way that you will hunt them down. Are we clear?" Ghost questioned Count Balsamico._

"_Yes," the Count's voice quavered._

"_Hand over the family heirloom now," Ghost stretched out his palm to receive it._

"_It-it's still stuck inside the clock! I have no idea of how to get it out!"_

"_Then bring me to this clock of yours and get going on your way."_

There in bed, Vergil already had an idea of what we was going to do tomorrow for the magical ball. He was done with protecting Aceto Balsamico for now, since he had already done his job of making sure that no one from the outside of her room could get except for the people that she trusted.

It was quick thinking on his part to come up with an incredulous idea that actually worked regarding his personal objectives on this ruddy assignment. This was one assignment from Lady Bianca that he was particularly beginning to enjoy and it was not because Mirajane was here on assignment as well.

Well, maybe it was. But that did not matter to him now. He was on the homestretch to getting out of here and if he wanted to make a lasting impression, he would have to make sure that the strings he was going to inevitably cut were the ones that held everything together.

_Nothing is true; Everything is permitted._

He chuckled slightly at his inborn sneakiness and looked out the window to see that there was no moon to watch his slumber. He yawned before he was interrupted by a tug of the bed cover. He did not move seeing that he was in a vulnerable position but his left hand had already prepared his hidden rope dart if he felt that there was something wrong.

However, his instinct betrayed him and his chest soon found itself being used as a pillow for a certain white-headed woman just about his age smelling of apples and mint and felt flawless and smooth to the touch.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

_So warm and comforting…_

"What are you doing here in my bed? Do you not have your own one to sleep in?" she heard Vergil ask her.

She did not expect the Assassin to be still wide awake and alert for any sign of movement. Mirajane chose to ignore him and continue trying to get to sleep. She snuggled against his chest and hugged him tightly in order for her to get more comfortable, not caring whether he cared or even gave his permission for letting her sleep in his bed.

After all, she was a young woman just like Aceto or Erza or Lucy… she had certain needs that certain men would not be able to accomplish nor fulfil. Her needs for a man were just like any other woman in Earthland but to the barmaid, there were some qualities that she had set for her man to meet, whoever that was.

And it so happened that Vergil Teivel met all the requirements of Mirajane Strauss, the Demon of Fairy Tail.

"Mira?" Vergil asked her again a second time. "What are you doing here in my bed?"

She smiled and continued to ignore him and closed her eyes to sleep, only that his tone had taken on a slightly threatening tone that preceded action.

_Let him talk to himself, he can take me anytime he wants to. Not that he would easily win me over something like this. Besides, isn't that what all men want? A gorgeous woman to sleep in the same bed as them?_

_Anyways… I just want to sleep so that I can prepare for tomorrow._

"Mira?"

_Ah! Just keep quiet and sleep, Vergil!_

"I guess you leave me no choice then," he said with an air of finality.

Without warning, Mirajane was being ticked in places like her waist and the back of her neck before she shot up straight like a bamboo plant from the bed and began to laugh as a result. Vergil knew that she was still awake but had no idea how to make her answer, so Mira knew that his next action would be to wake her up.

She had been awake the whole time, just pretending to sleep. However, Vergil did not stop.

Now upright as a bamboo pole, the man below her took the opportunity to tickle her in places that she never knew could be tickled before while still morally keeping her pure. Not only did he tickle her but he gave the laugh of her life without mercy. He gave her a few light hearted jabs in the stomach to make her bend over before lightly tracing her back playfully with a smooth finger. Mira tried desperately to evade the attacks but was unsuccessful until she tried to make a dash for her own bed.

Only, Vergil was quicker in response, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind as she jumped across the gap to try and reach her bed. The motion brought them falling off and straight to the ground with Mira below him. He held the back of her head as she landed on her back before landing on top of her, their facces inches from each other.

She braced herself for a lecture, if not a scolding in the dark.

"Mira," she heard him whisper, "What were you doing in my bed?"

"I felt safer than at home when I was sleeping with you that time in Hargeon," Mira fearfully replied.

"I do not understand," in the dark, she felt him withdraw slightly before allowing her to continue to explain.

"It's difficult to explain… it's like," she paused to try and find the right words, "you have become a source of peace and tranquillity that replaces the guild's boisterousness and constant unnecessary fighting a-and you have become a pillar of comfort and safety for me, seeing that I had to take care of others before I met you. Well, I still do but on a different scale.

"Without you, I would still be waddling around in my grief over what happened two years ago and those feelings would have gotten stronger; the despair and the loss and all the negativity tha-"

She felt a flesh finger place itself over her lips to silence her in comfort. Her eyes widened in shock, not expecting Vergil to interrupt her since he always listened to whatever anyone had to say, even her.

_Isn't this like in the drama scenes? Where the guy is in top of the girl before he kisses her and they do THAT thing? Plus, it is already past bedtime and we are in a dark room!_

She internally grimaced at herself before thinking about the advantages of the situation, the only one that she could think of being the fact that this moment could be used to find out whether the Assassin harboured feelings for her or not.

She felt him drawing closer before his cheek brushed against hers; their bodies were so close together and it made her shiver in anticipation for the act she knew was expected to follow. He slowly breathed in her ear, sending chills down her spine and wanting him all the more. The next thing she felt was her shoulder being held by the hand that had moved from her lips, now holding her gently.

It was too much for Mira to handle all by herself and she wanted him now, even if she would have her squeaky clean public image tarnished by a moment of lust, yes that was what it had escalated to in her eyes, and spend an eternity of marital bliss with Vergil "Ghost" Teivel of the Assassins.

He breathed past her ear once more and a complete silence ensued. It was so quiet; she could have sworn she could have the ceramic garden gnomes snickering in the castle garden just beyond the kitchen.

Then, he spoke just as quietly as he did initially.

"You can share the bed with me," he whispered into her ear before she felt him withdraw himself and standing up to let her climb into his bed.

_What? I expected him to just have a go at me! Not only is he physically strong, he has a strong will as well! Not only that, he's also inadequately dressed for sex! This is truly a man! _

_Uh-oh, why am I thinking like Elfman? I better get into his bed before he changes his mind._

Mira climbed into his bed and he followed her soon after. Without a second thought, she hugged him and snuggled close to him, burying her face in his chest and smelling sandalwood mixed with sea salt. It was a strange scent but she liked it.

Soon, she fell asleep in his arms as he held her closely with both arms, thorns on his left arm flattening themselves so that they would not hurt her.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

_I know she was anticipating sex; I just did not expect her to pour out her feelings for me so readily._

_What could she possibly want in a relationship with me? It is already abundantly clear that I have 'turned her on' but I have no idea now what it is that Mira expects of me._

Vergil closed his eyes as he smelled her hair before drifting into slumber.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Balsamico castle (the following day)**_

In all honesty, Mira felt his frustration at having to stand guard at the door of Aceto Balsamico's chambers just to make sure that no one could see the object of today's event before the event actually happened. To make his plight worse for the wear, Count Balsamico was personally overseeing the final stages of preparation and it was running the Assassin's patience quite thin.

Ghost on the other hand, wished that he had learnt how to cook exquisite dishes and help Mira out in the kitchen but he knew that if he were to help her now, he would become more of a nuisance than of help. Besides, she was Fairy Tail's number one barmaid and drawing card; she could handle cooking meals for the multitude in whatever way that she felt necessary.

The whole morning was full of hardworking chefs and servants while Ghost was the only person allowed in Aceto's bedroom (excluding Velveno) should she need anything. He defiantly stayed outside the room the entire morning and well into the late afternoon, not bothering to eat or drink.

All he did was stand still and think.

The party guests arrived in the late afternoon, some with bags full of clothes seeing that their journey was a long one and immediately travelling back would be foolish, especially late at night.

Instead of the guest mansion's kitchen, Mira was asked to utilise the castle kitchen instead. To her, it was huge and she had no idea where to find the ingredients in bulk. Many heart-eyed chefs helped her out here but other than finding the ingredients, there were no other troubles that plagued the kitchen as far the barmaid was concerned.

Ghost, a member of the White Legion and possibly one of their strongest, was not having a smooth day like Mirajane Strauss was.

By dinner time, a huge number of guests had already gathered in the grand ballroom and had begun tucking into dinner while the rest were still getting dressed for the ball, donning suits, several dress uniforms and for others, armour, with an additional mask to create the sense of mystery between other guests just in case there were broken hearts to be nursed following the proposal of Aceto Balsamico's future husband. It had a familiar setting that Ghost had experienced once before in another country but it was more festive then. He saw numerous people dressed in such a way that one would never be able to differentiate between a man and a woman with that amount of costumes on themselves.

He remembered that they called it Carnival. He took it as though he was in the midst of the festivities and his mind began to wander into his imaginative processes. He thought of another Assassin who wore a cape over his left shoulder, hiding his hidden blade with his hood casting a shadow over his face. He was lost in his daydreaming until he was nudged by Velveno, who had seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"Do you have your mask?" he asked the Legionnaire.

Ghost pointed to his facemask and resumed his job.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

She did not know if she would be able to finish washing the dishes in time to have some fun at the magical ball. She rushed through the plates like a dishwasher and the servants who were with her noted that she was still a young girl who had always dreamed of being a princess.

"Mira-san! Go and enjoy yourself," they smiled at her as she took another plate.

"But what about you?" she asked, concerned for their well-being.

"This?" one of the old servants raised her dirty plate, "this is nothing! Go and enjoy yourself now, it's not every day where you can live the dream of a princess you know?"

"Thank you so much!" Mira cried. She put down the plate she had already finished washing and got up to head to her room in the guest mansion to get her evening gown and the gold mask that Velveno had given her to wear at the ball which was an indication that she was a person who was respected by Count Balsamico himself, seeing that the gold mask had small jewels imbedded in it and the design was exquisite.

Once in the room, she got out her evening gown and made herself ready and smelling nice before she looked at it in bliss.

It was a sparkling maroon tube top that flowed down to her ankles and had a lit up to her left thigh. Following the dress was a hunt for the matching heels that she knew she had brought with her. She searched high and low, shallow and deep and eventually found them in the corners of her luggage bag. The black heels complemented the dress nicely but she felt that there was something missing to her attire. Mira rummaged her luggage bag once more and found two long white gloves. Finally, she wore the gold mask that had originally been meant for Ghost but even she did not know that and headed to the grand ballroom, her slender frame gracing itself along the castle garden walkway where a few love struck couples had already gathered to do some kissing.

She looked up to see Vergil on the highest point of the castle, no doubt keeping an eye out for any signs of danger.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"Legionnaire!" Ghost heard Velveno calling him from below.

The Assassin looked down, not sure of what the young manservant's intentions were of being out here when he should have been attending to Aceto.

"What is it?" Ghost replied, answering him.

"Go and join the festivities when the guards change their shifts," Velveno suggested. "You need some time to relax right? I hear there are some beautiful girls down in the grand ballroom if I'm not wrong."

"I will. Thank you," Ghost continued staying there, perched perfectly as usual.

"Hey Ghost!"

"What is it?"

"Aren't you going down now?"

"Not yet. I have a plan for you."

Ghost could feel Velveno stop in his tracks, not quite understanding what the Legionnaire just said.

"What plan? Make some sense," the young manservant replied.

"You love her, do you not?" Ghost began.

"Her?"

"Aceto Balsamico," Ghost replied. "Do you love her?"

"I absolutely do," answered Velveno.

Ghost climbed down from his perch and paced his hand on Velveno's shoulder.

"Good. Now listen to me, and do not ask any questions…"

_~ A few minutes later ~_

"Thank you, Ghost," said Velveno as he watched the Assassin walk away, "I won't fail you!"

The Assassin noted that the guard was already in the midst of changing shifts and he took the opportunity to get down to the grand ballroom to go and see what all the fun was about. He walked past the long hallways and soon arrived at the great doors that kept the guests in and opened the door slightly ajar to receive a few puzzled stares.

"Who is this man?" he heard many whispers in his direction. They were clearly not expecting a heavily armed man to attend the ball with his somewhat garish attire and fear-inducing left arm. His white attire had attracted even more attention and it did not serve him well that in his Eagle Sense, there were already some of the male guests who wanted to pulverise and kick him out of the castle.

He silently weaved his way through the crowd and headed to the snack table that was placed in a corner of the room to accommodate the dancing that was going on. He saw a white forward ponytail from where he stood and smiled under his facemask, knowing who the person was that had managed to catch his eye so quickly.

Mirajane clearly looked lost in thought from where he stood, not knowing what to do. The song in the background had almost reached his last note and he began walking toward her sneakily, making himself known as the song hit its last note.

"You look lost, milady," said Ghost from behind her, gracing his sudden presence with a bow.

She jumped and turned around to see that it was him, recognising him at once because of his facemask and white beaked hood.

"Why are you here?" she inquired of him, her hands outstretched in front of her as a gestural sign of confusion.

Ghost took her hand just as the music began to play. "You look beautiful tonight, milady. Will you honour me with a dance of a lifetime?"

With that, he gently brushed his lips against her gloved hand, not bothering to take off his facemask as she giggled, now knowing what he truly came here for.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

She was actually blushing behind that gold mask, not expecting Vergil to keep his promise about dancing with her.

But he was here now, in front of her, not having done anything to make himself look more presentable for a high-class event such as this.

He still wore his arms and pouches that were comfortably attached to his persona; his bow strung across his back, his favourite dagger's sheath tied to the belt across his chest, his many throwing knives that were within easy access and the pouches that stuck out at odd angles for a guest to the ball but were perfectly coordinated for war. One pouch was tied around his left thigh and another had been secured to his right hip. Several more lined his waist belt from the back and there was a smaller one that he kept near his quiver's mouth.

She had never seen him wear armour before and it was the first time that he had been decked out in thick black leather that complemented his white robes. A leather singlet could be seen above the white robe and he had on a flat and inconspicuous shoulder guard that he tied around his right bicep.

However, there were some changes to his persona. For one, she could not find his rope dart hanging loosely anywhere and secondly, a three kunai were sheathed on his right thigh and another larger, ornate dagger had been sheathed across his lower back horizontally, the dagger's handle poking out into view from his right side.

_Why is he kitted out with so many small weapons? Is he going to be attacked? What is going on here? Enough of that, I'm here to be treated like a princess._

She dreamily took his hand and drew closer to him. Her right hand rested on his left shoulder (away from the spikes) and her hand was comfortably nestled in his. They were waltzing, seeing that the song now was much slower and somehow more romantic.

She then her hip being gently grasped by his prosthetic left arm and together they began dancing, slowly and in time with the music. This was another thing that she did not know about regarding the Assassin.

"Where in the world did you learn to dance?" she asked him softly.

"Is that really important to you now?" his low and gentle voice found itself whispering in her ear. "Just enjoy the night as if you were the one who is going to meet her prince Charming."

The two weaved in and out of the numerous couples who had only paid attention to Ghost and Mira, the men noticing the white forward ponytail and the women who silently chastised the Assassin for such attire.

"What kind of gentleman dresses like that and dances with a woman? The poor girl, she must feel so ashamed," Mira heard several whispers from the women while Ghost had begun to take in his surroundings not as a man who enjoyed himself only but discreetly staking the place out for any quick exits and possible routes that he could use to get out in a flash.

After that comment about Ghost, she found it harder to enjoy herself the more she thought about it.

"Do not think about them," the Legionnaire cooed softly. "You look exceptionally beautiful tonight, but you are always as beautiful as ever."

"They were talking about you," she whined into his ear.

"I am truly not bothered by such remarks," he replied, he gently pulled her closer, complementing her once more on her beauty.

Mira smiled, before saying, "your mask is just as detailed as ever, kind sir."

"My gratitude to you, milady," he whispered his thanks before a pause followed. "We should go and do some sightseeing after this is over. What do you think?"

"I'd love to," Mira smiled once more.

The two continued dancing in each other's embrace and swayed their bodies with the time of the music. Mira soon found herself resting her head on his chest in the middle of the dance and simply enjoyed his company. She felt his heartbeat as they danced around, earning the jealous looks of rich nobles and their wives who had never seen mutual love become so personal that both Ghost and Mira did not seem to have a care about.

"May I have this dance, miss?" Mira was suddenly addressed by a dashing young man who wore armour that she could not recognise. The young man's mask covered the top half of his face and she saw that his lips had turned into a spiteful grin aimed at the Legionnaire.

She broke apart from Ghost's body and wondered about changing dance partners. As if answering her, he gently let go and gave a nod of the head to tell her that she should enjoy the night to her heart's content. In her heart, she pined for Vergil but she had to make do with this soldier. He began leading into the dance and gripped her rather tightly around the waist; she did not like it one bit.

"Such a beautiful young lady," the young man complimented her. "May I know your name?"

"I'm afraid I cannot give you my name just yet, good sir," she replied nonchalantly. "It is rude to ask a woman for her name before giving yours."

"Now, don't be like that," he soldier cooed, "I'll give you my name first. How about that?"

"How about your name, your job and who you work for?" Mira began playing with him, using whatever means she could to find out why Vergil had given her away to another dance partner.

"Hmph," the man playfully huffed in return. "My name is Captain Tisno Beli of the Blue Dragon Regiment, at your service, miss-?"

"That would be for me to know and for you to find out," she laughed at his folly and was impressed that she was able to get some information through sweet talking, besides formerly beating informants into a pulp.

"Come on, please don't be like that," he smiled. "Just because the White Legionnaire got to you first doesn't mean that you have to be so mean," he clutched his heart in a playful manner, as if Mira had hurt him with his words.

"What has the White Legionnaire got to do with this?" she asked him curiously.

"He is the devil dressed as a man," the Blue Dragon's voice dropped dramatically into a whisper. "That man kills without a second thought but the worse of his crimes is to go against the government of Fiore."

"What crime, specifically?"

"The Battle of Great Fortitude," the man hushed himself. "They wanted to overthrow the ruling government party."

"Hm? What for?" she asked him. Vergil had never talked about the Battle of Great Fortitude before and neither did he feel it was worth his time dealing with the issues of the past. However, his enemies felt differently about the subject.

"No one knows, that's the scary part, apart from their fighting and killing," he vividly shuddered at the thought.

_Poor him, he must have been there when Vergil was fighting._

"What do you know about the Legionnaire?" she asked him.

"Well," the Blue Dragon captain thought for a while. "Nothing much about him really. Isn't that how things go with them and the outside world?"

"What?"

"It's just… They're very secretive when it concerns them," he replied. "Not just during conflict but in all aspects of their training, their weapons, their capability, their contacts, and their lifestyle; you know what I'm trying to get at?"

"I suppose so," she thought carefully before getting it. "You want to know them inside and out. You want to know what it is that makes them so deadly and skilful."

"That's right," he gave her a genuine smile. "I did not expect a Legionnaire to be here but know that I think upon it, this would be a good time to test him out when the Balsamico heirloom is presented."

_Speaking of Balsamico, where is Vergil? Is he with Aceto-dono on her father's orders? _

Mira looked over her shoulder to try and find the Assassin but was unsuccessful in doing so. She turned around slowly not as to arouse suspicion that would make her current dance partner think that she fancied a killer. After a while of looking about in the crowded dance floor, her gaze turned to the upper floor balcony and it was there that she saw him.

He gave her a bow, this time with his right hand on his heart.

_What does that mean? Is there a—_

Loud fanfare announced the arrival of Aceto Balsamico and her father. Mira turned her head to pay attention to what he had to say.

"Friends and noble mages from all over Fiore!" he began. "You are here because you want to make my daughter your wife, yes?"

An uproar replied to the short old man, who was nearly knocked off the banister he was sitting on due to the brute force of that reply.

"Well, there has been a problem this year with the Balsamico clock. No matter! The problem has been temporarily fixed and your objective is to find the Balsamico heirloom on a White Legionnaire! Defeat him unscathed and propose to my daughter to win her hand!

"However," the Count spoke more gently now, "if you would like to dance with her, feel free to do so. Other than that, GO AND GET BACK MY HEIRLOOM!"

There was a huge mess of young men that ensued out of the main hall to try and find Ghost, Mira knew.

_So that was what the Count had called him over for yesterday… Good luck Vergil. Stay safe and come back to me okay?_

"The White Legionnaire…" Captain Beli was still trying to get to grips with this piece of news. "The Legionnaire has it?"

"Yup!" Mirajane smiled innocently at him, as if Vergil was nothing to be afraid of. Her mask showed no particular sympathy for the man in front of her.

"They are all doomed," the young man sunk to the floor with his jaw wide open. Mira knew that Aceto was his primary goal but seeing now that things had turned exponentially difficult, for that was what it was, and he had resigned himself to fate that he had to engage the Legionnaire on the honour of the Blue Dragon Regiment and for Aceto.

_The men are definitely in for a long night…_

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

He had hidden himself in the men's changing rooms, wondering how he would be able to survive this since he had been made the target.

_This may be interesting to go through… Bombs? Check. Knives? Check. Blades? Check. Hidden blade and hidden grappling rope dart? Check. Left arm? Right arm vambrace? Head? Check check check._

_Keh! Time so see how gullible these heart eyed men are._

He poked his hood out of the changing booth's curtain to meet the multi-levelled changing room in his field of vision when a whole group of men rushed in. One of them saw a hood and immediately pointed up, alerting the rest.

"Over there! Get him!"

The men scrambled to get up there and take down the Legionnaire. They rushed at the lone changing booth and tore the curtain open to find that he was gone.

Vergil had quickly made his escape by jumping down onto another landing that had two changing booths, before deciding that he had to get further away, putting some distance between him and them before setting his trap. He listened intently to the argument that had only started brewing.

"He's not here! Who the hell do you think you are?" Vergil heard a man shout.

"I swore I saw him!"

"Liar!"

"I am not a liar!"

"No! Maybe he wants to trick us and take the heirloom for himself!"

"He's wearing white! Maybe he is the Legionnaire!"

_Keh! Bingo._

Vergil waited in silence as the fight above him began, when he was sure it was noisy enough, he utilised his rope dart and made his way to the entrance, silently taking out some of the men before closing and locking the door silently. He then turned off the lights to everyone's surprise.

"What the hell? Turn on the lights!"

More fighting continued and this time, Ghost used his Eagle Sense to see in the dark to lessen the amount of fighting he actually had to do. He was merciless in his takedowns, not killing anyone but rather, knocking them out with skilful force. Several of his victims screamed in pain as he subdued them and the last standing person had finally realised that the Legionnaire was around, somewhere in the dark.

"Where are you? Show yourself!"

"Right here," Ghost whispered into his ear.

The poor lad made a swipe at the source, only to meet the space that was around him.

"What are you doing? I am right behind you."

Another swipe at air followed.

"Are you even listening to me?" Ghost spoke, this time in front of him.

The man tried for an uppercut and met the same result twice before.

"Come out here and fight!"

"As you wish," Ghost whispered. Without warning he soundlessly bounded forward and punched the man in the gut, making his opponent reel forward and finishing with an elbow to the back of the head, sending him crashing to the floor with his face being planted into the ceramic tiling.

With that done, he made his way to the light switch and switched the lights on to see how much damage he had caused.

In front of him lay at least a hundred young men about his age, give or take a few years off. They were all incapacitated and had no more strength to fight. A few had struggled to get up but they were weighed down by other bodies and thus were not able to get up and continue fighting.

"You bastard," they grunted at him.

"Fortitude," was all the Assassin replied to them. He searched the bodies for anything useful and he found a few vials of unnamed potion, some sporting dangerous colours while others were deceptively interesting to consume. He left them where he had found them and continued searching, finding daggers, lacrima-based weapons and the like. Further inspection soon found that a majority of the men were only Rune Knights that were just fresh from cadet school, most of them having found out about the magical ball through invitation from the Count to the magic council.

When he was done, he had found a particularly rare talisman that was past its prime as well as a perfectly balanced rescue knife that one of the Rune Knights had varied on him. Tying the sheath of the rescue knife to his left calf, the knife in between his legs, he made sure that he had fully dealt with the group before heading back to the grand ballroom, his stamina still at its peak and showing no signs of slowing him down.

He entered the ballroom by the sneakiest way possible, by the main door.

It seemed that the remaining suitors had only recently found out that the earlier group was immobilised by the Legionnaire all by himself. Seeing that the only way he could have done that was through underhand means, they began looking for all sorts of exits they knew they could use to get in and out effortlessly, anticipating the Legionnaire's entrance with extreme caution.

_Reverse psychology for the win, _Ghost thought as he silently let himself in to see Mira sitting down at a table with a few other women and talking over dessert. On the other end of the room with Aceto was the Count, conversing with a few of the Blue Dragon Regiment delegates and appearing to be deep in thought about something that Ghost knew was completely none of his business.

Having scoped the room fully and assessing the danger that it posed, the Assassin made his way to Mira's table, hoping that he would have enough time to sit down and chat or have a drink before he was recognised.

"There he is! Surround him!" called one of the Blue Dragon soldiers. From the look of the armour that the man wore, Ghost could ascertain that the fellow was a captain in rank.

After having allowed himself to be surrounded, the Legionnaire adopted a slightly relaxed stance as several men entered the ring that had consisted of suitors who were not willing to go head to head with Ghost just yet, not knowing what the man was truly capable of in a fight.

To Ghost, the first wave had only consisted of weak runts who had dressed themselves rather well. As they raised their fists and charged, the Assassin prepared a strategy but allowed them to attack, dodging and observing his enemies before tiring them out.

_Why are they not using magic? It seemed alright that they did not use it when I was ambushing the earlier group but now? This is becoming rather unsettling; just take things one enemy at a time._

Slowly, the Assassin could see himself being circled by five mages before the first one attacked with a requiped sword, swinging in a wide arc across the chest which Ghost ducked by leaning backwards. The next one who came in behind had sported gauntlets and they were conducting electricity and shot a charge at him.

_There is the magic I was anticipating._

Ghost took the lightning bolt head on with his left arm and the shock coursed its way through his body but never paralysing him the slightest bit. With quick reflexes he sidestepped a nunchuk, followed by a vertical upswipe from the first mage and rolled out of the way of the fourth opponent's water magic. The fifth mage, who had been observing closely, rushed forward with a spear that missed Ghost completely, the Assassin having seen him before he could act.

"Stay back!" called one of them. "We can take him on together! We have to think through this!"

"What ideas do you have?" jeered another one.

"Let me thi- GAHHH!"

The Assassin bounded forward and caught the requip mage at the neck before slamming him down to the ground and stomping on his face, knocking him out. The spearman tried for another jab but the strike was blocked and redirected to the mage with nunchuks, sending him flying backwards. Not quite done with the spearman yet, Ghost placed himself well within the range of the spear's reach and grabbed the spear with his left hand, bringing his right elbow down on the poor soul's elbow, breaking it with a bone crunching sound and finishing it off with a quick jab to the throat, counting him out.

"NOW!"

Ghost back flipped out of the way to see one bolt of lightning come at him from the right and a jet of water from the left. Both elements collided and needless to say, water does not mix well with electricity. The water mage fell to the ground, his body twitching as gravity pulled him down and his clothes were now torn and tattered. The lightning mage tried to salvage the situation and rushed forward at the Legionnaire, just the martial arts mage came at Ghost from behind in the opposite direction.

The Assassin turned to face the martial arts mage who swung his nunchuk almost immediately. Just in the nick of time, Ghost ducked with relative ease, having the business end of the nunchuk meet the lightning mage's face and breaking his jaw. It was too late for the last combatant to react as he was punched in the groin that was swiftly followed by another punch to the gut before a finishing uppercut to the jaw ended his run for Aceto's affections.

He did not have time for a rest; neither did he need one. He was already prepared when the next wave of better skilled mages stepped in with weapons drawn, most having swords as well an elemental magic to enhance their chances of inflicting damage as well as the damage itself.

It was a disadvantage to Ghost but he knew that he still had tricks in his arm and in his pouches that he had yet to use with safe certainty and audacious dexterity.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

_Never have I seen anyone fight like that before, not even Natsu, or Laxus, or Gildartz, or Master. How does one fight like he does? All he does is duck and sidestep while making his enemies attack each other in the most efficient way possible._

_It's as if he's planning all this on the go._

_But how would he know if he can't see behind his back? There was no way that I could have been able to see the martial artist and the lightning mage, not to mention the poor water mage before that coordinated attack that failed. It must be that he has eyes in the back of his head! Or he has super sharp hearing! How else would he have known unless he heard them or felt them getting closer?_

_It's just… something doesn't feel right here. I know he has no magic but a ton of hidden weapons. Why isn't he using them? Isn't he an assassin as well? Why isn't he killing anybody? Isn't that what assassins do?_

Mira was thinking these things about Vergil as she sat down at a table with several other female guests holding a cup of her own chocolate mousse. She set the cup down and watched the next fight intently, noticing how Vergil ducked here and there, grappling onto opponents and using them as shields or just manipulating their fighting styles to take each other out. The takedowns he personally performed were all non-lethal and quick, so that he could move on to the next few. There were times when he disarmed his enemies and threw the weapons away before dealing with them but other than that, the Legionnaire was graceful and calm in his fight, something that she had never seen before, even with Natsu, Laxus or Master even.

She saw Vergil administer an elbow to the side of a head before grabbing its owner by the neck and turning around to use him as a shield for a small war hammer to the gut. The assailant, realising his mistake, reeled back just the shot struck the friendly, bringing him down for the count before a stun round from a bullet mage shot him in the face, having seen but not expecting Ghost to twirl around in a sidestep and deal with said bullet mage by disarming him, breaking his forearm and lightly pushing him to the ground knowing already that he would trip on his feet, due to the shock and the pain of the broken arm.

"So, this is the true power of a White Legionnaire?" Mirajane heard a nearby woman ask around the table.

"I've heard many rumours but never have I seen it before with my own two eyes!" another woman replied.

"Is he using any magic at all?"

"Not that I can see."

"To last that long against so many men," said one more, "he must be very strong, seeing that he hasn't used any magic yet and given that he fought the group that ran out earlier to find him."

_He must be… How long did he train just to have the ability to fight like that? Years? How many years exactly? Two years, maybe three?_

She turned her attention to the fight to see Ghost block a punch and at the same time jab the throat with the base of his prosthetic palm. The opponent clutched his throat, not knowing how his throat had become so constricted before being knocked out with an accurate blow from Ghost to the face. The Assassin then leapt over a swipe from a spear, using the shaft as a beam and running along it before kicking the spearman in the temple.

"Definitely not three years," Mira answered her thoughts, getting the attention of the other women.

"Sorry, you were saying something?"

"Hmm?" Mira snapped out of her thoughts, realising what she had just done. "No, I was just thinking. If the Legionnaire had to train to fight like that, how long do you think he would need to achieve his standard of fighting?" she asked around for opinions.

"Maybe seven years?" said one woman. "I know that the Blue Dragons over there trained for six years before their assessment to become part of the regiment."

"But Blue Dragons are enlisted, aren't they? What about the White Legion?"

"I don't know."

Silence fell across the table as Mira thought about the recruitment methods of the White Legion. Truth be told, she had no idea as to how the Assassins recruited people, and Vergil wasn't too keen on sharing age old secrets.

Clearly, there were a lot of things concerning the White Legion that nobody knew. No one ever realised that to keep silent and do nothing when in actual fact was that the White Legion could was unnerving. It had instilled fear before the Battle of Great Fortitude, the Rune Knights and the Blue Dragon Regiment not knowing what they were in for against an old fort and a force that was only a fraction of their strength. Four years later on, they instilled an even greater fear for all of Fiore to see and had even disbanded several dark guilds at the mention of the white Legion.

It was discrete, yet powerful and here, in Balsamico castle, there was a perfect example of that right in front of their eyes as the opponents of the Legionnaire had surrounded him, each having a plan of action before rushing forward to at least try and strike him down.

"The Legionnaire is sure to get it this time!" Mira heard one of the opponents roar with delight as three more converged in with him to land a sure hit on Ghost.

_He's going to get hit—_

A black cloud suddenly erupted from where Ghost braced for the impact and enveloped the fighting space in a black smokescreen. Cries of surprise rang out before being gurgled one after another. Several grunts were heard as well and several of the spectators at the rim of the circle were pulled into the black cloud; there was a lot of coughing before even more of the grunting and the gaggling, not to mention the gurgling.

As the smoke finally cleared, Mira and the other women who had craned their necks to get a better look at things were in complete shock.

There, in the middle of the fighting area, was Ghost, completely unscathed and fine.

Around him, there were at least thirty odd men on the ground, some clutching their sides, others being knocked out and a few who had broken limbs. A handful of those whose limbs had been broken were mostly former Rune Knights who had sported staves that were now cracked, split, or snapped into tiny smithereens.

_What monster is this? Can I, Mirajane Strauss, former Take Over mage and current employee of Fairy Tail, possibly love this monster?_

"Halt Legionnaire!" Mirajane turned around to look for the source of the command.

It was Captain Tisno Beli with four other high ranking Blue Dragon soldiers and they all had weapons drawn and aimed at him.

_Two swords, one machine gun like Bisca's… one fire mage and the last one being Take Over… against a highly skilled man with no magic?_

"To arms!" Captain Beli roared across the gap that separated the Legionnaire from him. Mira saw Vergil draw his dagger and saw a blade that drew itself out of his left forearm, before the alloy claw gripped the hidden blade's handle grip, turning it into a conventional knife. The Assassin's fighting stance was still relaxed as ever.

It was at this point that Mira was concerned, especially for Vergil. _Her Vergil._

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

He had wondered when they would step into the chaos and misery that was Ghost the entire night. And yet, they still had the cockiness that had brought them down four years ago at Old Fort. He knew that this was the same man he met on the battlefield that very day in battle.

And yet, their paths crossed again without any hint of change going to happen. What was done had to be done but now this captain was trying to undo all of it.

"I will defeat you and bring you down, Legionnaire!"

"You and your team are most certainly welcome to try," Ghost replied as he bounded forward, going straight for Captain Beli, who raised his sword high.

Holding his hidden dart in a pickaxe grip, Ghost closed the distance between him and Beli as the captain raised his sword. The Assassin dived and slid through Beli's legs at the last minute, initially going instead for the gun toting Blue Dragon soldier all this while.

With the slide, Vergil swiped the lad's legs, causing him to fall down before knocking him out with the hilt of his dagger. He flipped out of the way of a stream of fire and in mid-air, shot the rope dart at the first fire mage. The dart struck true and the grappling hooks had latched on to the chest plate and when Ghost knew he had reached the peak of his flight, he withdrew the rope at lightning speed, using himself as a human cannonball and crushing the chest plate with his left shoulder and slightly wounding him with the crushing force.

_No killing. The most I can do is wound or decommission with non-lethal force. The creed would definitely not allow that._

"Iron Bull Take Over!" Ghost heard a roar and turned around to see a huge iron bull charging at him. He dived out of the way at the last minute, letting the wounded soldier take friendly fire and blocking Captain Beli's strike with perfect ease, even as the opponent quickly followed up a combination of stabs and swipes. Out of the corner of his eye, the Legionnaire knew that the Take Over mage would think through his strategy before trying to engage him again anytime soon. Now would be a good time to takedown the other fire mage and the captain.

Thinking quickly, Vergil grabbed the captain by the scruff of his neck and pulled him into a submissive position just as the fire mage shot a stream of fire at the both of them. Vergil used the captain as a shield, knowing fully well that the Blue Dragon Regiment had a lot of jewels to craft high-end armour and weapons.

"NOT ME YOU IDIO—GAHH!" the captain shouted as he was defeated by the flames, his armour protecting him but at the same time increasing the heat in his body, causing him to faint due to dehydration. Ghost quickly responded with a napalm fire bomb at the fire mage and it landed on his helmet, delivering the effect that Ghost knew would happen.

The fire mage tried to manipulate the fire off himself but was unsuccessful because there was sticky resin added to the liquid flame. Even if he could control the fire, it would only be a matter of time before his magic ran out.

The Assassin unceremoniously dropped Captain Beli onto the ground and turned to face the last opponent who happened to be the Take Over mage. Ghost had never encountered such magic before and was starting to realise that he did not have enough information to systematically take him out. He looked at Mira, who although was still wearing the mask, was thinking about how he would deal with such magic since she formerly was a Take Over mage herself.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

_He was perfectly fine but now? He's in trouble… this should be very interesting to watch. What tactic will he use? How will he attempt this?_

Only Mira knew that Ghost was currently dodging the several Take Overs that the Blue Dragon was utilising and assessing the potential danger that he posed. It was getting boring after a while but Mira felt that there was something else in store concerning some later event.

The Assassin remained relaxed as he sheathed his dagger and drew another of those hidden forearm blades from an obscure place on his right forearm and doing the same with the other twin on the left, wielding it like a dagger. The iron bull noticed this and reverted back to the Blue Dragon soldier.

"What magic do you specialise in?" the Blue Dragon soldier asked the White Legionnaire.

"I do not specialise in magic. None at all."

"So you do not have any magic to begin with?"

"What Take Over magic do you specialise in?"

"Opponent Take Over!" the mage cried out, before luminous scales covered his entire body and causing the Assassin to tense up.

"What magic did he say that was again?" Mirajane heard a question floating around the table.

"Opponent Take Over? Is there such a thing?"

Mira had only heard of Opponent Take Over once or twice. It was a high level magic which only soldiers and members of the Council security could use to further their Take Over and develop their true magic, which was very difficult to achieve. For guilds and independent mages, it was strictly off limits due to the effects that could have arisen from one spy of a guild on a fellow guild or a sabotage with devastating results.

Opponent Take Over was a magic meant to mimic and deduce enemy response according to the enemy's ability. From a visual perspective, the mage would take over the abilities and appearance of his/her opponent, save for external weapons. It was often used to slip under the radar whenever there was an underground conflict or a clandestine mission that the Magic Council gave.

Ghost looked on at the transformation that was happening before his very eyes and was surprised to see himself without his weapons, save for the hidden rope dart and the hidden gun. There were no attached weapons or pouches on his doppelganger's body.

Mirajane was now concerned. Would Vergil defeat his own doppelganger and win? Or was his own training too tough for him to overcome?

Both Ghosts charged forward at the same time and the armed Ghost landed a stripe of red across his own double's chest before punching in the same place to send him flying backwards.

"Is this really the standard at which I fight?" taunted Vergil. The other Ghost immediately got up and bounded forward, ignoring the pain in his chest. It was not long after a war cry that both White Legionnaires were head to head, parrying attacks with lightning speed, easily matching each other.

Vergil was still rather relaxed in his fighting while the breath of the other mage had become laboured and heavy. Still, neither stopped and the blows that each other exchanged were going nowhere.

It was not before long that Vergil managed a counter attack by ducking under the swipe of the small dagger and simultaneously swiping across the abdomen in a gruesome fashion before ramming his left shoulder into the open wound. The other mage transformed back as he fell to the ground, his hands clutching his wounds before passing out.

Seeing that the remainder of the mages were too scared to confront the real Ghost, they backed down as Mira could see the unmistakable hairstyle of Velveno sneak up behind Vergil and knocked him out with a well-aimed punch to the back of the head. Ghost fell forward and Velveno quickly searched his body for the Balsamico heirloom right in the view of the count.

"WHAT!" the room fell deadly quiet as the count roared in anger.

_Wait! Doesn't Vergil have eyes in the back of his head? If he could see where Velveno was coming from, he would have turned around and stopped him from stealing the Balsamico ring so that he could…_

_Marry Aceto._

_Vergil had planned this all along, that sneaky half devil. He must have filled Velveno in when the guests were having dinner and when he was watching over the castle for any intruders. He knew that Velveno loves Aceto and is now trying to secure their relationship and happiness, even if the girl can't see the love of her life right in front of her. _

"Aceto Balsamico," Velveno held the ring up for all who were still conscious to see. He walked up to her and knelt down on one knee, before deciding that two knees on the ground during a marriage proposal would seal their love.

"Will you do me the honour of being my wife, the one that I love, cherish and adore with all my heart?"

_Kyaa! So romantic!_

It seemed that Aceto had just come to realise that her love was right in front of her all this while, remembering the times that she spent with him. Her hand extended out to him but only to be swatted away by her father, who was now fuming mad with uncontrollable rage.

"NO NO NO! I WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY OF THIS TOMFOOLERY! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE NOW YOU DIRTY BLOOD!"

Count Balsamico began to chase Velveno out of the castle but due to his short legs he was unable to catch up to the lad. So he issued an arrest warrant and a reward of twenty thousand jewels to anyone who returns him the Balsamico heirloom.

He was not finished yet with his temperament, walking over to Vergil and kicking him awake. The White Legionnaire woke with a start and rolled backwards onto his feet before realising that Count Balsamico was the one who woke him up.

A string of curses that were unheard of even in Fairy Tail were now being aimed at Ghost by the count, furious for letting his guard down and letting a low-life such as Velveno get away with the Balsamico heirloom. The small and sour man continued to run his mouth off for the next twenty minutes as he was berating the Legionnaire of his repeated failures, most of them being actual successes but not according to the way that the Count wanted. He pointed fingers and called him names and began to threaten Lady Bianca in front of him, wanting to march to Gallowstown with his small army and destroy the White Legion.

Suddenly, the hidden blade shot out at the Count's forehead without warning, only stopping at the last second and trickling a tiny stream of blood from his temple.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"Enough," said the Assassin. "Of all the things that you can threaten me with, you threaten the lives of my friends and family in front of my very eyes?"

"I'm the one who's –"

Ghost applied a little bit more pressure into his forehead. Cries rang out telling him to stop but he turned a deaf ear to them.

"You are the one who had loaned me from the hand of Lady Bianca herself did you not? Of all the people that I have met, you are the one who had the inane nerve to piss me off with ridiculous demands and unforgettable sins!" the Legionnaire roared. It was truly fearsome for those around who were listening and they shivered in fear in their respective spots. His voice soon returned to its usual calm demeanour but this time there was venom subtly laced in his baritone voice. "You and your blood this, you and your blood that. I have had enough with you and your blood. I do not care if it is purple or blue or red, I do not care if you have nobility or royalty or deity in your veins, I will cut your head open and see for myself what kind of man you truly are on the inside."

"NO!" Aceto's voice screeched as Ghost pulled back his left arm, after he had tossed Balsamico aside to the ground. She quickly ran down and placed herself between her father and the Assassin, shielding him with her body. "He is my father! Don't do this!"

"Stand aside, girl."

"Please, I'm begging you," she stretched her arms out. "Please don't kill him! He may be like this but he was a better man when mama was still alive! I need him to show me how to live my life in this world! Please!"

"I will not repeat myself a second time, girl. This is none of your pathetic business."

Ghost stepped forward but Aceto did not budge one bit. She held her ground and there was defiance in her eyes mixed with the tears of sorrow.

"You want my father? Take me instead! Let me take his place instead!" she shouted at him.

Vergil did not show any sign of surprise as compared to the others who gasped in shock. He positioned his hidden blade and struck as she closed her eyes. His arm was swift in its motion and there was no stopping it, even if time had slowed down in Aceto's favour.

There was no blood but there was a clump of orange hair that scattered to the ground before she was pressed at a certain pressure point on the back of her neck, knocking her out cold immediately.

"What did you do to my daughter you son of a bitch?!" the Count roared, the popping vein in his temple pumping out blood.

BANG.

Vergil tensed up as he fired his hidden gun a few centimetres past the Count's face, destroying five tiles and cracking the surrounding tiles that were within its area of effect.

"Count Balsamico, Lord of Balsam town," growled Ghost, " if I ever hear of you from any form of media or political avenue, if I ever see your face in any newspaper, magazine or lacrima, if I ever find out about what you are doing, even in the slightest hint be it evil or benign,

"I will not hesitate to hunt you down and kill you myself. I will not hesitate to show you the true meaning of fearing for your life. I will not hesitate to bring your whole family to ruin, destroy all that you love and make you wish for death.

"And when you wish for it, I will make sure that you beg me earnestly as if your very life and well-being depended on it." The Assassin turned to leave, saying, "The next time you see the White Legion here in Balsam town, they will be here for your blood. Maybe they can find out whether it really is purple, or blue, or red." With that, he exited through the main doors

_If I ever see him again… I will maim him._

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Mirajane**_

Mira began finishing the last of her dessert before bidding the women good night and heading out to find Vergil and hopefully get him to share his feelings. Not knowing where he would normally go, she tried the room that they shared only to find it empty. She changed into her home clothes and proceeded to look for him in the castle, beginning with the gardens first. The late spring breeze blew against her t-shirt and shorts, making her hold herself to warm up before deciding against it and heading back inside to go and get a hoodie.

She got out again and walked to the castle gates leading inside but found out that she had been locked out as the guests filed into the guest mansion to turn in for the night. Mirajane knew that it was already in the wee hours of morning where the moon was at its highest in the sky and sighed. It would be a long time before she would find the Assassin who had hidden himself very well from the world. In the now empty garden, she huffed and pulled her hoodie around her tighter, looking about in the bushes and along the hedges to no success.

Then, she heard a cough, a quiet but distinguishable cough. It sounded like it belonged to a noble but the voice behind that cough was unmistakably his.

"Ghost?" she called out. "Are you here?"

She looked around almost frantically in anticipation to see where he was hiding. She heard footsteps but they did not seem to be from the ground as the sound of them drew nearer. Mira soon heard the clinking of roof tiles and looked up to see the Assassin, who had wondered who it was that was calling this early in the morning.

"Mira? Not asleep yet?" he asked her, his tone still scarred from the previous encounter in the ballroom. The venom in his voice was still latched onto it, although he had tried his very best to tone it down to its minimum.

"I wanna talk," she gently replied, "can we talk?"

Vergil climbed down the building and asked, "Talk about what?"

"Just now," replied Mira, "is it okay with you?"

He nodded his head before looking around cautiously, seeing that several windows were open and some of the guests were at the windowsill watching the two of them.

"Can we not do it here?" he asked her.

"Then where shall we go?"

"The roof."

"I don't know how to climb buildings, Ghost," Mira looked doubtful as she looked at the building face, wondering if there was another way to get to the roof with little to no difficulty. She looked back at Ghost's face and as if in response, he turned around and knelt on the ground with one knee and bared his back.

"Climb on."

"What?"

"Come on, we do not have all night to talk," he told her. She climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him even tighter as he stood up, as if there was no weight on his back initially.

"You are very, very, light."

"Thank you," she smiled, whispering into his ear. Without warning, he ran straight at the building before hoisting himself up the wall and grabbing the second floor windowsill. Mira screamed in fear but was silenced by the Assassin who slowly began to ease his way up, using the window grills, loose bricks and several unknown cracks in the walls to get up to the roof. Near the top, he leapt from his latest foothold and grabbed the edge of the roof and hung there by his hands before taking some effort to pull himself up over the roof, taking care not to scrape her knees as he got up.

Now, up on the roof, Mira now saw why Vergil had chosen this spot to stay away from the other people. The scene that met her eyes was beautiful, giving her a picturesque view of Balsam town in the strong moonlight. Looking up, she also saw that the stars were particularly bright tonight, smiling at her. A sound reached her ears as the Assassin sat down on the roof and looked at the sky.

"I know it hurts," Mira sat down next to Vergil's right side, "but you need to know that you are not always alone wherever you go."

"How do you know how much pain and hurt I have been through to know what you say?" he questioned her.

"I have been hurt too," she said, caressing the back of his hood gently. He did not bother to swipe her hand away or look elsewhere besides the night sky. "I was even hurt by my family. I'm sure you know how that feels, right?"

"All my life I have trained and trained and my skills become wasted at the hands of a sour-, sou-, s-," Vergil tried to find a better word without spewing vulgarities, "sourpuss."

"There are times like that, just put it behind you, it's not worth your life if you dwell on it forever," her hand moved from the back of his hood to rest on his shoulder. "You know what happens when you dwell on it too much right?"

"It kills me on the inside and changes me into a person I never wanted to become."

"_It kills me on the inside and changes me into a person I never wanted to become."_

_Lisanna's death made me the person that I am today. Back then, I was rude and spoilt by my magic power. Back then, I was too naïve to let my nakama get in the way of my pride. What did I get out of it? I lost a sibling, and my younger brother and I fell into magical depression at such a loss._

_I have changed for the better in many ways, like the people back at Fairy Tail tell me that I have changed for the better. In some ways I agree with them; never would I have ever dreamed of being so approachable that I became the drawing card for the guild in the weekly Sorcerer's photo spread, Wakaba Mine wants me to marry him so that he can break off his relationship with his wife, I'm not as violent as people tell me anymore, I don't dress like a slut or a punk girl and there are guys who seriously want me to be their wife, apart from Wakaba. Everyone I meet tells me that the way I smile brings a cheer to their hearts._

_But in other ways, I have become worse than I originally was. I know I used to fight a lot but when Lisanna died, my fighting spirit died with her. I had no more reason to go on fighting anyone or anything. Her death had made me hate myself for not being strong enough to protect her from Elfman's Take Over. Back at the guild after that incident, everyone was down in the dumps, even Master. Painfully I shed my hard shelled exterior and exposed my real self to the guild, wearing a maroon dress and tying my hair in a way that no one ever expected, even Erza. Even the way I communicated with others changed and a smile took the place of the frown or evil grin that always appeared whenever there was a hint of challenge. In short, I was a shell of my former self before I was expected to become it._

_But the smile on my face that is seen isn't always genuine, although it does look the part._

"Something I said made you so silent and pensive again?" Vergil gently shook her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," she answered him. "How do you keep doing that? It's like you have something that I don't."

"I have something that you do not have?" he returned the question with his own.

Mira slid his hood of his head and slowly removed his facemask to see his purple eye and his blind one. Strangely, the blind eye had never been this shade of snow white before and she knew it had to do with the spell book that he had been reading yesterday.

"You just learnt magic?" she held onto the facemask tightly with two hands.

"Is that it?" he scratched the back of his head with a cheesy grin, not expecting that question.

"No! I-I meant something else before I saw it!" she said quickly.

"Is the magic obvious?"

"No," she replied, "just the side effect only. I never knew you could learn magic, when did you find out?"

"Yesterday, after the squabble with Velveno." He tore his gaze at the stars to look at Mira's eyes, as if his own eyes were telling her a story, which they were.

"Oh I see… Back to the topic," she was back on track of the earlier conversation. "What is it that you have that I don't?"

"What do you mean?" Vergil gave her a mockingly incredulous look, one which she knew he was hiding something from her. "I am sure that you have some examples for me to remember…"

"Hmm," she thought about it. "There was that ridiculous horn that you managed to crack open on the first try? Not even Erza has that much attention to detail. And then there was… Right! Yesterday before I was assaulted, how did you know where to find me before I even knew the two guys were going to attack? When you were fighting just now, how come you have eyes in the back of your head? And by the way, I know that hit from Velveno was planned all along, you can't fool me that easily," she teased him with her sudden flurry of questions that he was feeling pressured.

Combat and assassinating did not pressure him, yet Mirajane was here pushing Vergil into a corner quite effortlessly, which was very strange in the barmaid's eyes. She smiled at this.

"I guess… you got me, huh?" he relented. Mira inward yelped in victory.

"So?" she pressed, "what is your secret?"

"It is a secret that I was born with," he started to explain. "It has been a secret in my blood for the past four hundred and twenty years since my ancestor came here."

"Came here? I don't understand," her face contorted with confusion before he placed a hand on hers to stop thinking about it for now.

"That is not the point. The thing is, while most people are born with five senses, I was born with six," he continued.

"Six?" she gasped, never having realised it until now. "So the tracking and the fighting and the locating was all another sense? What does it do?"

"It helps me see certain things which normal eyes cannot see, like the intentions of others around me or to find and track someone or something down. With this extra sense, I can easily see in the dark, even in pitch blackness," he said his piece.

"Does it have a name?" she asked curiously.

"Eagle Sense. It is useful for star gazing when all the stars are out."

"Why?"

"It helps me to see the different constellations that the zodiac spirits place in the sky to represent them. They once told me that no sky is too small to be their canvas on which they create fine pieces of art," he replied.

"You've met the celestial zodiac spirits before?"

"Yeah," he casually shrugged it off. "A couple of times when I was younger."

"Tell me! Please?" she gave him a beseeching look he looked at her and wondered what demon had suddenly changed her emotions, from serious a moment ago to childish and playful.

"Okay," he chuckled for a bit. "Bedtime story then. Vergil's life story, written in parts," he said it with an air of a narrator, his baritone voice making him somewhat comparable to the highly paid announcers and emcees for social events.

Mira snuggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, to which he reciprocated the action and began telling his story in a gentle low voice so as to not wake the other people that were below them.

"There was a friend of my father's named Layla, who was the wife of one of the most successful men in Fiore. Layla was a kind and gentle woman, loved by all the people who cared for her and well taken care of by her servants. Despite of all the riches that she had in helping to run her husband's business, she never grew proud and haughty but showed grace and humility to everyone that she met.

"Now I do not know how my father had met her but he was a close contact of hers that was quintessential to her husband's success in his endeavours. An important man in his own right, he was a man who knew how to anticipate changes in the stock and exchange markets, able to read the trends of the economy like a well drawn map. Layla would often call upon him for his advice every three to four months and most of times that he went, I followed.

"Never would I have realised that my father's work had benefitted others so greatly. When I arrived at her house for the very first time, I saw with two eyes the magnitude and scale of the land that her husband had acquired over the course of his successful years. The mansion was nothing like I had ever seen it before in my years as a child.

"I was properly introduced and made to find my own ways of entertainment while my father attended to his business. I would often stay outside of the mansion and practice my drawing of the scenery and the birds that flocked to a puddle. It was a way to pass the time but I eventually became bored of the routine.

"Somehow, Layla knew that I was bored and it just happened out of coincidence that she had two zodiac keys in her possession. She summoned the two of them out to keep me company out of her own good will, and for the zodiac spirits to realise that not all humans are selfish and treat them like objects. So, the two spirits were Capricorn and Aquarius. They would meet me at the fountain where I always drew my sketches and it was there that I learned a great many things about the celestial spirits.

"However, the first thing I was taught by Capricorn while Aquarius fawned over me was how to identify the constellation in the sky. They taught me the different star signs and let me draw them out in the codex. Each spirit had a story of how they became to be what they were but they never told me anything about their lives. Capricorn was more of a teacher and Aquarius was more of a motherly figure and they were pleased with my eagerness to genuinely try and understand their world, seeing that I yet to discover mine. They laughed with me and played with me, even teaching me how to swim properly at one instance. They were amazed at how much information I could recall and contain in my head and they sort of knew that something was up. When they thought that I was not hearing them, they talked about some prophecy that would happen at a particular time in the near future.

"The spirits gave me a new name, one that only they would know it would be me regardless of who or what I could become. They named me the Staffbearer, saying that that was the meaning of my name. They told me that I would stand strongly for my principles and stay loyal to whichever cause, holding up a flag and heralding a new age of sorts but not leading it.

"It seemed that I was a messenger of sorts, one who still does not know what message he has to deliver and to whom," Vergil paused.

Mira felt his head move so that he could look down at her. She was still awake, but barely able to contain her yawning.

"Those happy times were not meant to last for long though," he breathed and exhaled in a sigh. "It was two weeks after they had named me Staffbearer that my parents were taken from me by a highway ambush conducted by trained mercenaries. They were killed on a business trip and the news reached me too late as the government had already burned the bodies under advice from the magic council. I never got to see them again," Mira felt a tear run into her hair and heard a quiet sniffle. "It pisses me off at how unappreciative people can be when they all of life's great treasures right in front of them. Somehow they get everything and I get nothing out of it? Not even a word of gratitude?" Vergil swallowed his anger and calmed himself before he felt a gentle finger pressing against his lips to calm him down and keep him quiet.

**( T.T) (T.T ) ( T.T ) ( T.T) (T.T )**

_**Vergil**_

"Hey," she gently cooed, "no more anger outbursts, okay? That kind of feeling is not a good one to have, even if you are an Assassin."

She held his face and gazed intently into the purple orb that was his eye and noticed that there were hints of silver in them, shining brightly. She looked like she had never noticed it before in Vergil's point of view and he guessed she associated his Eagle Sense with it.

He sat still, dumbfounded at what she was doing to him, still keeping her finger on his lips as she tried to think of something to talk about. She thought of nothing and opted to give him a genuine hug, wrapping her arms around his neck as he caught her. He saw that she still held his facemask in her hand and he thought less about it, grateful that there were actually people who cared greatly for the welfare of others above their own like himself, although albeit in a different way.

"Thank you for listening to the entire rabble," he thanked her, still in the hug.

"It's perfectly okay to share your feelings with me you know?" she pulled her head back to look at him. "You need friends to share your feelings with."

With that said, she leaned her head forward and kissed Vergil on the cheek, catching him off guard and making him blush.

"You look cute when you blush like that," Mira teased to the mock chagrin of the Assassin.

_**+_)(*&^%$# !**_

_**A/N: A/Ns before and after... 32,953 words is too much, is it? how's the story for you guys so far?**_


	5. Discovery

_*A/N [So, I thought of giving Vergil several arcs of his own, seeing that the first four chapters are all about him and Mira. Time to address the Templar problem in Fiore! I present to you readers…_

_The Hidden Infamy arc_

_Enjoy!]_

**CHAPTER FIVE: Discovery**

It was true that the Templars had been quiet for the last few months, besides the reports of them actually helping out weak mages along dangerous highways and saving those that were in distress. The Assassins knew better that they were trying to recruit mages into their order, but the motive for doing was completely out of the white devils' grasps.

Then, it happened.

There had been an incident where a mage who had been particularly new to the art of some obscure Lost Magic had beaten down an Assassin. It came as a shock to the brotherhood, not knowing why the mage attacked the Assassin specifically in the middle of a crowded street.

The Assassin was fine, having fought back with a certain grace and ease like that of a master although he was only the rank of Mercenary. The mage was put down without mercy and the Assassin had vanished within the ranks of the brotherhood.

To you, it would not have been a surprise to say that it was none other than Vergil "Ghost" Teivel who battled that mage but that is another story for another time. Vergil knew then when the mage attacked him that the Templars were recruiting mages, especially those with fluency in the Lost Magics.

He had guessed a few motives for doing so but without substantial evidence, his few logical claims would be burned down after being heard.

Only they were not.

Lady Dina Bianca had gotten word of Ghost's deductions and had decided to act upon them, quickly assigning them to various cities to gather information on the Templars, their motives, their strengths, their weaknesses and the like.

**Vergil**

_**Gallowstown, Assassin HQ**_

Vergil saw that the Lady of Gallowstown was already preparing the finer details of each and every assigned Assassin personally. He had noticed that the teams heading out to the major cities were sent off in groups of three, four maximum, and that carrier pigeons were being flown ahead for them with instructions for the Assassin bureau. From the chair near the window at which he sat gazing out into the springtime afternoon, he could hear many words of encouragement from other Assassins to those who had been chosen.

_Reconnaissance. Not the easiest kind of assignment and neither is it the hardest. The only major part of recon is the risk that it involves you once you get caught, which is a good reason why the Assassin that are being sent off are mainly Veterans._

As soon as he saw the last team of Assassins being sent off, he noticed that Lady Bianca was headed in his direction. He knew what was going to happen next and he made no movement or hint of attempting to leave. In his mind, there was one city that the Templars would never expect the Assassins to search for answers.

Crocus.

It seemed that as usual, he would get the toughest assignments with the most disadvantageous perks.

"You," Lady Bianca towered over him as he continued to sit in his chair in silence, staring out at the afternoon sky which had begun to darken, casting its shadow over the land. "You are headed to Crocus to find out whatever that you can with the appropriate amount of force necessary. There's nothing that we can do to help you with now; you are going there on your own. Do what you must and spare no mercy. Am I understood?"

Without a word, he got up from the chair and nodded his head in reply. He gave a bow out of respect and made his way to the map room and looked about for a map of Crocus and the surrounding towns and villages. The scribe in charge of the map room saw him and recognised him as the Legionnaire that had dealt with Count Balsamico just only five weeks ago.

"Legionnaire," the scribe addressed him as she did with all the other Assassins that came in here, "what can I help you with today?"

Ghost looked up from the shelf that he was searching and turned to face her, "Good afternoon to you. I would like to view a copy of the most recent map of Crocus city."

"The capital city?" she asked in confirmation. He nodded and the scribe motioned for him to follow her down some steps, leading him into a room where there was another scribe at work on a piece of manuscript, which Ghost currently had no interest in. she found the map that the Assassin requested and showed it to him.

Unfurling it, Ghost saw that the all the Templar dens were marked, as well as many key shops that provided food and supplies for his assignment. Various weapon shops were marked by their different categories of their weapons, like a blacksmith with a hammer, firearms dealer with a gun and ammunition with a throwing knife. From what he could remember, Ghost could not see the marked shops that sold unconventional weapons like whips and claws. In his mind, he marked the key places of interest and made a mental note to resynchronise with the layout of the city once more. Once he was done, he thanked the scribe and made his way to the armoury to prepare for the journey to Crocus.

He kept all his knives and throwing knives on him as usual and made sure that he had adequate bombs to suit the most dangerous of situations. He looked over at the armourer and thought about arming himself up and immediately thought against it, seeing that the assignment was mainly to see but do not get seen. He double checked his arrows and gave the arrow tips a coat of poison, and made doubly sure that all his knives were as sharp as they could be before heading off to Crocus and documenting his thoughts and whatever findings in the codex, the book never having left his person to begin with.

The journey took five days From Gallowstown to Crocus and to Ghost, it was rather uneventful to have to sit on a train, get off, sit on another train, get off, sit again on yet another train and finally get off at the station just outside of Crocus, besides the fact that the train had been repeatedly assaulted by bandits, robbers and thieves which the Assassin took care of with deadly force.

The main reason why he had gotten off just before the train pulled into the city was because he wanted to assess the aggressiveness of the city guard before conducting his investigation. He had alighted at the nearest town possible and climbed up the trees, using the branches as pathways before he reached his destination which was now a Templar den that had once belonged to the Assassins. The place had Templars crawling all over it and having remembered what the den used to look like before its capture, Ghost knew that the Assassins' presence in Crocus was heavily looked down upon in Crocus, seeing that there were numerous guards and Templar militia milling about going on with their duties. From his perch on a particular tree branch, the Assassin could see numerous classes of Templars on patrols before his attention was focused on what the guards were looking at moments after his arrival.

Out of the den door came a Templar, who was dressed finely in metal armour and sported a red cape with the state flag emblem on it. At his side lay a sheathed great sword and on his back a hexagonal shield was slung. His gold helmet had emeralds adorned in the forehead and the visor had slits for him to look through. Ghost immediately assumed that he was the Templar captain in charge of the den.

Ghost watched the Templar captain set off in the direction of Crocus, not knowing what was supposed to happen in the later parts of the day. The Assassin weighed the probabilities of ever seeing the Templar captain and decided to follow the target, now highlighted gold, to see what place he would lead him to or whether there was a place that he wanted to go but was ordered not to.

The Assassin continued to stalk the captain until he reached the city gate before noticing that there was no way that Ghost could directly follow him into the belly of Crocus. Quickly looking about for another possible way to enter the city, he saw the many various crowds that were slowly filing through the gates not far behind the target and Ghost immediately got down and effortlessly blended within the crowds and continued to stalk the target, sneaking past the guard outposts and finding himself soon in the city of beautiful Crocus.

Only, Crocus had lost some of its beauty over the past few months that the Templars took control of Fiore's government.

The nearest buildings were now dirty and grey with neglect instead of the lustre of the pearls that were often sold in jewellery shops. The flower beds that lined the streets for which Crocus was very famous for were unkempt and were growing weeds. The flowers themselves were choked and looked like they needed water and care of the city gardeners. The streets were dirty and occasionally, rats were scurrying across the pavement every now and then.

Avoiding more patrols, the Assassin continued to stalk the Templar captain by blending with the crowds before the target turned into a rather secluded part of the district and forcing Ghost to look for another way to steal himself past the guards that patrolled the area, before resolving to climb to the rooftops for a better chance at information gathering. He did so but there was another challenge on the flat rooftops waiting for him.

The guards on the rooftops had bow, crossbows and in certain cases, firearms. They all posed a threat to the Assassin but Ghost was not fazed by the sudden presence of guards here on the rooftops. Carefully keeping an eye on the target and his senses focused around him, he managed to take out several snipers before looking down to see that the Templar had turned into an alley, leaving his two elites at the entrance as they turned their backs down the five hundred metre stretch, not wanting to interfere with the captain's private affairs or so it seemed. Once he was sure that the captain was fully unaware of his own surroundings, Ghost pounced on him from the rooftops, knocking the wind out of him and covering his mouth to stifle the scream of shock.

He quickly drew his hidden blade and positioned it at the Templar's throat.

"Tell me what I want to know," the Assassin ordered. The captain tried to move, only to have his gut punched. He tried once again to escape but Ghost was too fast to let him go, stabbing him in the leg to disable him.

"Let us try that again," Ghost spoke softly, hand still on the captain's mouth. "Tell me what I want to know now."

The captain gave a muffled cry and somehow, the Assassin knew what he was talking about.

"Mmff! Woort buuuu ooooo wone?!"

"Tell me why the Templars are recruiting mages fluent in the Lost Magical Arts," the captor demanded. A series of muffles followed, as if there was nothing that was covering the poor captain's mouth. The white hood occasionally dipped to show that its owner had understood every muffled word that was being spewed out of the captain's mouth at frightening speeds even linguists could not catch up to.

"Alright, that does not explain much but another request from me before I release you," the Assassin whispered. "Give me the names of all the leading Templars that you know." With that, he drew his hidden blade closer to the Templar captain's throat, effortlessly intimidating him into talking and spilling his order's secrets.

To the captain, an Assassin in Crocus was a sight that was never seen since the purge a few months ago. To have one suddenly swoop down on him like a hawk with the cunning of a serpent was already frightening enough to make him wet his pants, which he did, before breaking down and spewing out everything that he knew in one breath, even when his hand was covered. The Assassin that literally held his life in his hands was not taking any chances but had somehow understood every word that he had said.

"Is that all?"

The Templar captain nodded his head vigorously, hoping to get out of the alley with his dignity intact.

"Thank you," Ghost stabbed him in the neck with the speed of a snake before pulling out the hidden blade slowly so that the warm blood would stay in the body and not leave behind any trail when he drew it back out. As soon as he was sure that there was no one around to investigate the heavy stench of iron, the Assassin quickly climbed up and got himself out of the area and found a high point with which he could resynchronise with Crocus city's landscape and topography.

_**Crocus**_

Ghost looked out towards the square and observed the townspeople going about their daily lives. The Assassin could see from his bench that there were hints of civil unrest from where he sat down, watching the movements and the motions of the citizens closely, also catching glimpses of glares that were directed at the occasional city guard or Templar official that strolled around. It had only been a few hours since he had killed the Templar captain and news of the assassination had spread around the city like wildfire.

However, apart from the resentment of the people towards their current leaders, Vergil could see faint hints of hope in a few people. These innocents held their heads high, knowing that a revolution was beginning to come around the corner. He knew that they did not have the capability and the ability to start an uprising and would soon be crushed by the Templars as soon as they started. It was a thought that made the Assassin pity for the lives within Crocus, old and young alike. He got up from his bench and trotted along the street towards the lesser known districts. He heard the distinct name of Kirintio Soncha flying about loose tongues about a party being held in the evening to celebrate some obscure event that was open to certain guests. Kirintio was one of the people mentioned by the Templar captain and Ghost knew that later would probably be the only chance that he would get his answers. Listening more to the conversations around him, he set off to the location to stake the place out for an undeniable assassination just waiting to happen. Ghost continued to walk around, eventually finding a lacrima vision with a portrait of the intended target.

_At least I have a means of a failsafe should anything go wrong or I mix up the names and faces of targets. Now that I know where his party is being held at and I know what he looks like, it is time to delve deeper and find out more about the party's details. If there is another way of killing him without attracting attention to myself, I would definitely need a good plan and knowledge of the area before I go and interrogate Kirintio._

He took to the rooftops again and swiftly made his way to the party venue and saw that the place was being decorated by much less than willing citizens, who from the looks on their made it abundantly clear that the time spent on decorating old ruins would definitely be better spent elsewhere. From the rooftops, Ghost saw that the venue was held out in the open, surrounded all around by buildings that had encased the area like a gift in a box. In the middle of the square, he saw many people milling about their chores and building a raised platform right in the middle of the square. Tables were being set up at the four corners of the place before being covered by exquisite tablecloth.

The Assassin continued to survey the area closely and found several benches with a few of the people sitting down and taking a rest from the raised platform that demanded so much attention. He slowly climbed down into the party grounds without arousing suspicion and began to mingle about and blend in with the citizens, learning whatever that he could that may become useful in the coming hours. The first thing that caught his attention was four men in leather armour that were discussing the security measures of the place.

"…the preparations, are they complete?" Ghost heard one of them as he inconspicuously drew nearer.

"Not all of them are fully decorated. But I thought only that making sure the guards have a place to take care of was our job?"

"It still is," said the third man.

"Then what we are doing here, keeping an eye out for other people?"

"Not everyone is capable enough to do the jobs that Templar person randomly gave and threatened to death should they refuse," the fourth person calmly replied. He looked over his shoulder to watch the citizens at the raised platform who were trying to align the heavy planks as perfect as much as possible.

"What about the guards?" the first person asked again about the arrangements for the city guard during this lavish party.

"Four at each of the four entrances, and the rest can organise between themselves what they want to do in here." The Assassin heard him speak, before looking around to find four major exits other than the open air above.

"What about that Kirintio? What does he have for security?"

"I hear he's bringing two elite guards…"

Ghost had caught the gist of what to expect in terms of facing armed resistance between him and his objective. He then turned his attention to a pair of women that were strolling around, finely dressed and animatedly chatting about the party plans.

"Kirintio Soncha is coming later!"

"Duh!" the other rolled her eyes at her friend, unaware of the Assassin that was following behind them a distance that was not too far off. "He's the host of the party!"

"That's not what I meant!" the first woman stomped on the ground, attracting the attention of the nearby people who were constructing the stage. Ghost looked away, up at the sky to see that there were several fluffy clouds that were swept away by the north-eastern winds.

"Hush! You're gonna attract attention to ourselves!"

"It's not like a big secret that Soncha's coming fashionably late and giving his opening speech half an hour late on the stage that they're building right now," said the woman indignantly.

"Are you planning to spoil the party?"

"No! Not at all… just thought you wanted to know."

It was just then that a street cleaner brushed past the Assassin, muttering about last minute instructions from "the stupid arseholes high up".

"I'm sorry," Ghost apologised for not having moved out of the way of the elderly street cleaner.

"Huh?" the cleaner looked around before realising his action. "Oh! No harm done, none at all!" the elderly man waved a hand dismissively but Ghost was not done with the information procuring.

"Forgive me for prying but you seem very frustrated and upset over something," the Assassin made his observation.

The old man heaved a sigh before saying, "I am very frustrated with the people holding this god damned party in this part of town. How are a few back broken men and women going to clear all the leaves from this square in time for this evening? It's impossible!"

"I see," Ghost agreed. "Have you found a way to hide all the mess that Mother Nature has made?"

"No, but we were thinking of piling them thick at the back of the buildings so that the leaves stick together and don't fly away."

"That seems like a viable solution."

"It better be. If that arsehole ever makes a hint about moving it…"

Ghost left the grumpy old man to his mutterings and strings of silent curses before heading to the stage area to help to construct the raised platform and began to mingle with them, easily passing of as a Zentopia missionary, despite the weapons that were visible on him. He helped a woman nail two floor boards in place, only being focused on completing such a mundane task as to set up a stage meant for a man and two bodyguards.

"I really hope that no other soldier steps onto this thing, it could break!" exhaled a nearby man in exhaustion. He wiped the sweat of his brow and casually looked around for guards, gazing over the bent back of the Assassin who was inspecting the wood finishing of the stage before pulling out a splinter.

"I thought that only Kirintio's bodyguards were standing up with him when he makes the speech?"

"Aye, that," replied a gruff man. The group looked around for any unwanted attention.

"There's talk that there will be a change of guard during the speech," the same man spoke to the chagrins and moans of disappointments of the rest. "The guards will triple in number because of what happened earlier."

"Huh?"

"What happened?"

"Ya remember tha' time when we had them assassins in here Crocus?" the gruff sounding man spoke softly. "There's been talk that there's been a white devil that's stalking the streets looking for something of great value to him."

"What is it?" one of the younger men inquired excitedly.

"Hush! Where was I—ah right," he paused, "there was some news that there was a captain of the Red Cross guard that was found dead in an alley just this morning a little ways into town. The man was cruelly stabbed in the neck but there was no blood to be found except when the state coroner touched his cold body. They say when the coroner touched it, the blood began spewing and spraying out like a water fountain; it was a bloody mess when they tried to clean it all up."

Several of the women gasped in shock, their hands covering their mouths while the men shuddered at the thought that such a dead person could be treated as such without respect.

Ghost had heard the entire story and the conversation that preceded earlier and realised that he had done enough investigation for tonight's assassination. Without a moment's notice, he was gone from the party venue and off to find the suitable weapons to pull off the kill. He immediately heads to the shops, their locations still vividly marked on the map that he had copied into his codex and headed to the nearest weapons shop, stepping into the store and meeting a whole range of firearms as soon as he closed the door behind him.

He walked further into the shop and saw a tiny and frail old man behind the cluttered counter full of papers and several bullet rounds scribbling frantically on a piece of paper, wiping cold sweat from his brow from time to time. Ghost approached the counter and placed his bow and arrows on the countertop.

"Excuse me," he spoke. "I need your help in selecting a new weapon for me," he enquired, only to have his words fall on deaf ears. Sighing to himself quietly, Vergil began to view aisle after aisle of arrows, bows, crossbows, bomb ingredients and firearms. Not able to decide on what particular weapon to barter his bow for tonight's assassination, he thought of the bare minimum and made his way back to the counter to name his price.

"Sir," the Assassin spoke again, seeing that the old man was still scribbling in that piece of paper. Getting no response, Ghost reached out his hand and covered the parchment with his hand's shadow and distracting the shop owner effectively.

"Oh!" the old man jumped in surprise. "A-a-a-a customer! It's been a long time since I had a customer! Thank the heavens for listening to my prayer! Now, what can I do for you?"

"See," Ghost gestured his hand to his bow that was on the counter, "I would like to barter my bow for a weapon that can reach farther distances and still strike true."

"A barter?" the old man looked crestfallen. "I suppose I can do that…" he turned his attention to the piece of paper once more before deciding against it.

"Can you help me?"

"What do you need?"

"I need," Ghost began listing down the specifications, "a weapon that can shoot far but still be very silent when I fire it. It needs to have large amounts of ammunition loaded before I can fire at will. Above all, I need it to shoot very accurately."

"Silent and deadly with the advantage of distance?" the shop owner asked to which the Assassin nodded.

"This way," he motioned Ghost to follow him into the back of the shop where the most lethal weapons were being kept. These were military grade weapons that civilians were not allowed to have under the Fiore government's laws and the Magic Council would always conduct a search if they suspected illegal firearms.

The old man hobbled to one of the chests and produced a ring of keys from his pocket before fishing out the chest key and turning it in the lock, before lifting the heavy lid to reveal an old sniper rifle.

It was not what the Assassin had expected at the very least, mainly because it looked more like an over the top revolver that had been sitting in the window on his way in.

"This has an integrated silencer, a removable stock, bipod and gripod, a powerful scope about 8x zoom and a revolving chamber magazine that fires normal rounds and armour piercing rounds."

"How far can this thing shoot?"

"As far as the eye can see, my friend," the old man gleefully replied. "But you'll have to prove it to me before that you can use it before you own it."

"Does the barter still stand then? I need to prepare for a party tonight, Kirintio Soncha will expecting me."

"The Red Cross man? I figured as much," the shopkeeper rubbed his chin pensively.

"Figured what? Make some sense old man," Ghost warned.

"You're one of the White Legion," he said slowly. "I'd be damned as my blind grandma's eyeballs, God bless her soul. The elite of the voluntary corps of Gallowstown! Are you here to kill someone?"

Ghost nodded his head and the old man kicked his heels in glee, knowing that Crocus would soon see its former glory restored unto itself.

"About that rifle," the Assassin started.

"Take it boy! No need to barter anything with me! Take it and go kill them corrupt officials poisoning the city with their lies and slander!"

"But I – "

"No need to pay anything! On the house! Don't try and give me trouble now, please?"

"I insist that I give you something in return," Ghost argued. With the rifle in his hands, he sat down on the ground and began stripping the firearm down into its parts and documenting the several configurations that the weapon could be utilised for. He placed it back together with the default scope, the assault stock, the gripod and loaded it with armour piercing rounds before slinging it on his back. The old man gaped at the adaptability of the Assassin before him and clamped his fingers on the table edge in barely contained admiration.

"Take the bow and arrow and surrender them to the city guard."

"What?" the old man stuttered.

"Since you do not want the bow and arrows," said the Assassin, "take the bow and the quiver of arrows and surrender them to the city guard. They will give you a hefty reward for finding clues to the mysterious death of the Red Cross captain that died earlier today. I am sure that will be payment for more than enough."

"Oh thank you!" the man burst into tears of joy at the sound of payment. Ghost hurriedly left the store, taking the several rounds of spare ammunition with him and took note of the time.

_That was the weirdest man that I have ever seen in a long while… What kind of old man flips his emotions like a dog chasing a rabbit only to be distracted by its tail?_

_Anyway, now that that is done, finding Kirintio would be no problem, other than sneaking in and waiting for him to show his face._

Vergil looked up at the evening sky and began to make his way back to the party venue by taking to the rooftops, sneaking past the city guards that were looking for him in the streets below. He soon arrived at the party venue, looking down from the rooftops in time just to see the guest of honour, Kirintio Soncha, arrive fashionably late to the greetings of the other guests. From the roof he observed the patrol routes of the guards and marked out the hiding spots in the back of his mind before descending down into the crowds to gain more information about the Templars before going directly to Kirintio himself for answers. He slowly slunk around the many groups of people who he knew were bound to have critical information on the Templars and the dealings.

"For once, we finally have the means to deal with the pesky Assassins," he heard a woman speaking to another Templar.

"Quiet, Zaneta. These white devils have made an appearance today," said the other Templar in response. "A captain in one of the city outskirt dens was killed within Crocus's walls this morning."

"So?"

"He died with a hole in his throat," the man whispered.

"You think that they are back?"

"I suspect so."

"No matter. That dead man is only one. We have many under our command. Even the majority of the ten wizard saints have agreed to join our cause but if only we had this Siegrain from the Magic Council…"

Ghost was surprised at how far the reaches of the Templars had become. He looked around to see that there were only a few Templars in here with his Eagle Sense.

Then the mid party speech began.

Kirintio, dressed in fine garments, was making his way up to the stage, flanked by two elite Templar agents on either side of him. The target called for silence before clearing his throat as the guests turned to face him, waiting to hear what he had to say. Ghost silently moved about and mingled with the crowd to get to a bench in a far corner of the room and sat down in between two nondescript strangers who had taken a seat, resting from their excessive partying.

"To all distinguished guests," Kirintio began, "I thank you all for coming here and attending this fine occasion to celebrate the return of the Red Cross's elite infantry corps!" he applauded before gesturing to the two guards beside him, the crowds of guest doing the same and following his lead.

Several coughs rang out and Ghost dismissed them as having too much wine or having laughed and partied too much before turning his focus back to Kirintio.

"As you have all known, we are mainly here to celebrate the return of Fiore's greatest soldiers from the far off lands of Bosco! We thank them for their service to this beautiful country and its citizens! Without them—"

Ghost had turned his attention to the guests on the floor, now coughing uncontrollably and clutching their throats as if some great object had lodged itself and was firmly determined to stay there. One by one, Vergil saw them pulling of fits of wanton insanity, flailing their arms this way and that without a care for the next person and hobbling about in their places as if they were caught in the trance of a demon. Foam appeared at the edges of their mouths not long after and several collapsed and died before they hit the ground, their eyes white with agony.

The Assassin had seen these symptoms of a powerful poison that he had used countless times before on assassination missions. This poison was one that was impossible to taste or trace and its ingredients were a complete secret to anyone but the most skilled apothecary. The only reason that the poison would only be utilised in the Assassin's mind was to draw attention away from himself or to deal with multiple targets in the most subtle manner possible.

And the subtlety in poisoning large groups was when they were drinking and feasting away in merrymaking and happiness. A few drops of it in a vat full of wine would have easily sufficed.

Ghost watched in horror as the lives before him faded away like the blowing of leaves in the autumn wind. However, he continued to sit where he was and did not move a single muscle, save for his eye, trained on the target that now had an evil grin plastered on his face.

_That bastard! La Cantarella on innocents? What did they ever do to you that would warrant their lives for your misery and sorrow? I knew the food looked too good for a place in the corners of the city like this box of a room. _

"You rejected the offer that **we** gave you and this is how you will be repaid," Ghost heard Kirintio mutter under his breath from where he sat on the bench. More guests continued to fall as Ghost loaded his sniper rifle, hearing Kirintio's voice over the din of gurgles and screams for help.

"Thank you all for listening to my rabble and continue to have a good evening!" the Templar on stage laughed as he gave a bow to the dead, the few survivors scrambling to the exits to escape the guards that had gone in to quell the situation.

Ghost stood up and aimed the rifle before firing two shots, one at the elite on Kirintio's left and another on his right. The shots took the guards by surprise as Ghost slung back the rifle over his shoulder and raced forward toward the Templar, still reeling in shock that two of his Red Cross guards had been assassinated. Kirintio found the source of the shots and cried out in surprise as Ghost crossed half the distance between the bench and the stage.

"Assassin!" he cried. He saw Ghost drawing his hidden blade from his devil arm before catching a grip on himself.

"No! You will not kill me today like you did the poor captain! I will kill you instead!" the Templar waved a hand in the air as the Assassin drew nearer, too close for comfort.

As Kirintio waved his hand, Ghost was sent flying back a metre or so and quickly recovered to see his target running off in fear for his life.

_Wind magic. _

_It will take much, much more than that to stop me._

Vergil ran forward, hot on his target's heels, effortlessly avoiding and swerving himself around the many guards that had tried to block his way out. The few guards that drew their weapons were too slow for the Assassin's blade; having it planted brutally in their chests and ripping them open as the white devil passed by without a hint of error and continuing to sprint at full speed.

"Die Assassin!" Kirintio shouted as he sent a wave of wind at Ghost, who quickly dived behind cover and immediately vaulted over once the attack passed him by. "Stop him!" the Templar shouted at his guards.

Vergil resumed the chase and continued his killing streak as guard after guard tried desperately to stop him from reaching his target. Kirintio had also pushed down crates and shelves from the street side stores to halt the Assassin's progress to no avail.

He did push down a whole stand which smothered the whole street, forcing Ghost to turn into an alley to see steps and beams leading up and around the mess that the Templar created. Without hesitation, the Assassin climbed and leapt along the path of beams and lamp turns to meet his target just he came out of the alley, drawing his hidden blade but narrowly missing the strike.

Rolling safely on the ground and quickly recovering he bounded after the Templar, catching up to him and waiting for him to make a crucial mistake. Kirintio lashed out with a hand behind him within Ghost's reach and the Assassin grabbed it with his right hand, pulling it back and shocking the Templar. With the sudden force being inflicted on the target, Ghost drew his hidden blade in the midst of the sudden turnaround and stabbed the neck with the added lethality of the counterforce, causing the body to be hoisted in the air like a lever with the neck as the pivot. The Assassin slammed the neck down hard onto the ground to ensure that the kill was complete and that Kirintio could never get up again.

**Memory corridor**

_They were surrounded by a white light and there seemed to be no distinguishable exit as far as he could tell. Kirintio lay on the ground with his bloodied neck, wondering whether or not he was still in the land of the living or whether he had passed on into the nether realms of his dreams. The whiteness of this place gave him a strong chill down the back of his spine and the ground was cold and unforgiving to the human touch of blood. He looked around and there he was._

_The angel of death. The white devil. The white Legionnaire. The killer of the multitudes. The Assassin._

_The Enemy._

_It seemed to him that his enemy, standing by his side and looking down at him, did not relish the moment of taking his life but rather felt apologetic towards him. However, under the mask that the Assassin wore, there was no telling what emotions were present on his face. The Assassin just looked at him, waiting for a moment for whatever it was, Kirintio would never know._

"_Why," Kirintio spoke, only to be shocked that he gasped for breath with every word that came out of his mouth. "Why kill me? What have I done to make you hate me so much?"_

"_I do not hate you," the Assassin calmly replied. "I am here for answers and I want them now."_

"_What do you want? Don't you already have it?" the Templar struggled to speak, reducing himself to slurred speech and the occasional cough._

"_The Templars have been recruiting mages of substantial power and I would like to know why."_

"_We are fighting a war Assassin, you and I. Do you know how wars are won? Not in skill, but by overwhelming numbers. We know that your order is weak and defenceless against the mages of Fiore and we know that you have been slow to act on many things on many occasions. We know how you act upon information, taking it as the truth when it is in fact a lie and taking the lie as the complete truth," Kirintio laughed at this fact, surprised that the Assassin in front of him had even bothered to ask him such a question._

"_So, you intend to massacre us," the Assassin spoke, shifting his weight around and thinking about Kirintio's words. In a flash, the devil was on top of him and grabbing him by the collar. "How did you get this information?! Answer me!"_

"_The Magic Council would know about it…" Kirintio struggled to hold on to the sliver of life that he had left in him. The Assassin let go and laid his head down before standing up and in his last few moments as he closed his eyes to sleep, the Assassin spoke._

"_Innocent lives lost today will bring only hurt, suffering and pain for eons to come. A request rejected only leads to resentment, resentment to conflict and conflict, misunderstanding. __**Mottenmeisubeshi(Rest in peace)."**_

_**Crocus**_

There was no chance that the Templars could catch the Assassin that had just assassinated one of the order's prime members as they chased after him into the belly of the city.

Ghost eventually shook them off and made his way to the west gate to head to Era, home of the Magic Council in hopes of finding out the Templar that had been planted within the ranks of the council.

As he exited the city in the early hours of morning, he was interrupted by a woman in a cloak.

"Hey you!" she called, a young and vibrant voice audible from the source.

Vergil turned his attention to her as she called him again. Once she was sure that he had trained his eyes on her and approached her to ask of her identity, Ghost knew that something was amiss.

"Thank god you decided to show up! Do you know how long and hard I've been looking for you?" she berated him. "I'm your sister, your long lost sister."


	6. The Artful Dodgerina

**Chapter SIX: The Artful Dogerina**

**(*_*)**

_**Vergil**_

"_I'm your sister, your long lost sister."_

In all honesty, Ghost had no idea how to take this piece of random news and the sudden appearance of a complete stranger.

"What?"

"You heard me you fool," the woman replied. "I'm your long lost sister, you're my long lost brother, we're related? Understand me so far?"

This was not a good time for someone such as Ghost to be reacquainted with anyone, seeing that he had just assassinated an influential official within the walls of the capital city and a Templar captain and the fact that the two of them were standing just outside the city gate with the wanted poster of the Assassin just beside the guard post.

"I do not understand you at all," the Assassin replied to her "can we meet somewhere safe that would not attract any attention to myself?"

"What do you mean meet somewhere else? Don't you remember me?!" she raised her voice at him.

"I do not remember you and I am truly sorry for being able to recognise you but to talk now at this time is not safe for either of us," he spoke in a hushed tone. "Do you hear the city bells ringing in alarm? The guards will be looking for the man who killed Kirintio Soncha and they will find him if the two of us do not get out of here soon to a safe place."

"You killed him?" she asked rather daftly.

"No, no I did not," he sarcastically replied to her before dragging her towards the city gate and telling her to lead him to her place where they could talk without fear or possibility of being eavesdropped upon. She walked calmly back through the gate and into the city while Ghost had to climb the ramparts and onto the beams that were nicely positioned in the overhang of the gate's archway and sneak himself back into the frying pan that he had poured oil into, figuratively speaking. Without any incident, he followed her with the use of blending within the midnight crowds who were out to see the sights of Crocus at night and managed to avoid the patrols that were actively searching for him, passing him off as a hooded monk at first notice.

It was not always easy for the Assassin as he stayed within the crowds to avoid being detected and he resumed his passive hiding, knowing that the woman would eventually realise that he was following her as best as he could and continue on as a result.

He was an Assassin of the Creed; one of the basics of recruit training was to find your target through a thick crowd with no sense of direction and only one clue which was the belonging of the target, particularly a coin.

With the Eagle Sense, Ghost managed to follow the woman's trail back to her home in the rural district in the far corners of Crocus city and he made sure that no one followed him as he knocked on her door.

Once inside, he saw her pull her cloak off and reveal her face to him.

In his opinion, she was indeed pretty in his eye (not as beautiful as Mirajane) and she had an air about her that spoke volumes of her undiscovered abilities that the Assassin had yet to see. She was simply dressed like an adventuring woman and by her hip hung a scissor knife. A small pouch was seen tied like a belt around her waist.

"My name is Yvanna Nataoshi," she spoke to him in a rather cheerful tone, a huge contrast to the voice that had earlier caught his attention.

"You are not my sister like I had suspected," Ghost drew his hidden blade threateningly, the sound drawing out of its sheath catching her unawares. "My surname is different from yours and I never had a sister or brother to call my own. What do you want from me?"

"What do you work as?" she hurriedly asked him, plainly and clearly ignoring his question.

"What do you want from me?"

"Just answer my question!"

"Tell me what you want from me, woman!" Ghost raised his voice.

Yvanna stood a few paces back and rubbed her chin, wondering how to get him to reveal his occupation.

"I'll answer you if you answer me first," she declared after a while of consideration. She looked at the Assassin who, under the hood, was steaming in frustration.

"Fine," Ghost huffed. "I am an Assassin."

"Good! Let's partner up!"

"WHAT?" Ghost's jaw dropped. "You have not even told me what you want from me and now you expect me to partner up with you?!"

"Yup!"

Ghost shook his head and deadpanned, fully understanding that he had gotten himself into some unnecessary that did not concern him at all. He inwardly cursed at himself, saying that he should have known better but his memories of Mirajane and her guild's war with the now disbanded Phantom Lord had resurfaced and had smacked his brain left, right and centre, proving to him that he really did not know any better than his reasoning.

"What are we going to do as partners?" he asked Yvanna, who was keeping a curious eye on him.

"WE are going to steal treasure!" she chirped. "It's gonna be from a museum this time!" at this she skipped around the room in joy at the thought of swiping priceless artefacts before turning around to see that the Assassin was already halfway out of the door.

_I have more pressing things to do than to steal artefacts from a museum…_

"Wait!" she called after him. He ignored her calls for him to return and continued walking. He heard footsteps behind him and was quickly blocked by her, preventing him from going anywhere else.

"Please! Just wait! Give me one chance! I won't call you again, ever!" she pleaded with that puppy dog look in her eyes.

Without another thought, Ghost gently moved her out of his way and made for the city gate that faced the city of Era, home of the magic council, where he knew he would find as many answers as possible.

Only to meet her at the gate with a horse right in the middle of the street, catching the suspicions of the guards.

_Damn. She knows how the Assassins do things sometimes. If only she did not know me, I would have been able to successfully sneak past the guards and out of here to Era._

Giving up, he walked over to her and pulled her into an alley and demanded that she talk if she ever wanted him to partner up with her on this raid on a museum.

"We'll split the earnings 50-50? Please say yes!"

"Answers!" he shook her by the shoulders. "I need answers now! I do not want your stupid bargains! Just give me the answers to my questions!"

He saw a tear of fear fall down her face but he paid no attention to it. Inside, he felt bad that he had to do such a terrible thing to a woman who had only wanted help in the first place.

"They weren't lying," her voice quavered, "You people are scary!" With that, she burst into tears at that point. He let her go and she fell to the ground, clutching herself and crying as silently as she could.

"Who are they?" he softly asked her. "Who told you about me?"

"Go away!" she swore angrily at him, waving a hand away.

_Women are so confusing… first she wants my help and now she rejects it? If there is one thing that I have learned about women so far,_

_They are unpredictable._

He thought about staying to see if whether or not she would calm down but when her cries showed no sign of ceasing, he turned and proceeded to walk out of the alley, leaving—

"Hey! Don't go! I'm not done with you yet!" Yvanna's voice yelled out behind him, in between sobs.

_Scratch that. Women are __**born **__unpredictable._

"I apologise for scaring you," he spoke to her. "Let us work together just this once and then go our separate ways."

"Ok," she drew a deep breath to steady herself before getting up. "The government is so corrupt, stealing from the people of Crocus without giving back in return. I just want to help the people get back what they deserve by stealing from them."

"I see what this is about," Ghost understood. "This is vigilante work that you are involved in."

"You do vigilante work too right?" she asked him. "My mentor told me all about who you people are and what you do undercover."

"Really?" the Assassin bobbed his head to one side in curiosity. "What did he tell you?"

"Your recruits are more skilled than most of the thieves in the city," she said, "and we steal from the officials who roam the streets looking for someone to enslave. So that would be saying something."

"Rumours work better than facts sometimes but enough of that. What museum are we going to steal from?"

(*_*)

_**Yvanna**_

_Ha! I have an Assassin around my pinky! This is too good to be true! I will—_

"I will not go around and blindly follow orders, Yvanna. I we are to do this, there must be a mutual understanding between us," said the Assassin. "If you want success on this raid of yours, I suggest that you let me do things my own way while you do things your own."

_Dammit! Maybe not around my pinky, but he should be enough to have around. _

_The stories are true; these Assassins are scary and I thought he was going to kill me with some secret weapon! At least the last minute backup plan worked. Now, on to phase two!_

"Oh. Okay," she deflated at the conditions that the Assassin had set.

"What is it that you want to steal?"

"I'm not so sure myself," Yvanna began walking out of the alley, motioning for the Assassin to follow her. "I have only recently heard of a "piece" that the government brought back from an expedition just a few days ago."

"A piece? What kind of treasure is it?" he asked her slowly.

"I don't know," she replied. "All I know that it is just a piece of something."

"A piece…" she heard the Assassin mutter to himself, beginning to wonder whether he knew something about it that she did not.

"What museum are you planning to attack?" he asked her after a while.

They were now walking in the streets at the break of dawn and the sun's first light had already shone down into Crocus city. It was beautiful but Yvanna knew that the view would have been much better if the city had not been taken over by the deceptively corrupt government.

"The Human Historical Museum; there should be more than just a piece of priceless artefact to steal if you're just wondering about the loot," she replied.

"Loot? I am surprised even the thieves of the city organise their spoils by value," the Assassin quipped.

"How do you do it then?"

"We? We go by the amount of information that we can get; treasures and trinkets are secondary to us. The more invaluable the information, the more we will go to great lengths to get it," he replied, his hood pointed in her direction as he spoke.

She knew it better than the Assassin that with every raid that she would participate in, preparation was of paramount importance to success.

Or so she thought.

"We must prepare for the raid as soon as possible. I will go to the museum and find out what items I want to steal."

"But didn't you just kill the official Soncha?"

"Just worry about yourself first," he left her lost in the crowds following that statement, as if he had disappeared into the wind.

(*_*)

_**Vergil**_

He made his way to the museum with haste and entered through one of the back doors, seeing that the city guard had been posted at the front gate to protect whatever it was that the Templars had discovered.

Climbing through a window and looking around to make sure that there was no one around, Vergil began walking around the new exhibits, seeing what his enemies had uncovered. Without knowing it, he eventually found himself in the restricted exhibit, where the barricades would only be lifted to allow the public in sooner or later in the week.

Crates after crates of valuable antiques and trinkets lay around the wide and vast room and several of the contents were already in display cases. Out of the corner of his eye, a stone block in a glass case caught his attention and he cautiously walked over to it, using his Eagle Sense to slip past the security lacrimas.

It was a perfect cube that would fit snugly in the palm of his hand. There were nine sections of six different glyphs on each face and the cube could be twisted on a certain axis such that each face revealed a different message.

_These glyphs…where have I seen them before?_

He retreated into a dark corner of the room and took out his codex, flipping to his ancestor Judas's journal entries; the first of the Ghost bloodline to step foot into Earthland. The first few entries were exactly the same as that of the glyphs that he had found on that cube and he read the glyphs as if they had been in his memory for as long as he could remember.

_I know this language…but how can this be? This is not possible! Not in this time period!_

Vergil flipped the pages furiously and began to see that his fears were skimming the surface of his anxiety, threatening to jump out at him and realise his fears. He tried to grasp the possibilities that the Templars had found a way to reinforce themselves with more Templars and found only one solution that could have carried out such a theory.

_This cannot be happening…Edolas. No. I cannot jump to such conclusions so quickly. I need time to study it and decipher the secrets that this cube holds._

He made a small mark with his hidden blade on the pedestal on which the little cube sat on and continued to walk around, his eye open for any other clue that he would most definitely need. His Eagle Sense directed him to a particular crate and he opened the lid, forcefully pulling out the nails that held the lid in place and threw it behind him to see a journal and some papers, accompanied by a glass instrument that had been cracked due to the fact that it was packed properly.

Ghost took the papers and stashed them into his pack before heading back to Yvanna's hideout to plan the raid which would happen a few days later.

(*_*)

_**~Raid day~**_

_**Yvanna**_

"Ok, you need me to go through the plan with you again?" she asked the Assassin.

"There is no more need for that. Thank you for your concern," he calmly replied.

The two of them were on an adjacent rooftop, looking down onto the museum entrance and discussing the security details that had increased their presence significantly after having been tipped off by some random innocent civilian who had overheard a conversation between Yvanna and one of her fellow thieves. Ghost could see that she was visibly upset with herself for having slipped her tongue too casually but the damage had been done and there was no other opportunity to raid a museum than the day that it opened a new exhibit to the public.

She looked down to see many parents and children milling about the entrance as the late afternoon sun beat down upon their backs and heating up mirages on the street below.

"We cannot pull off a heist here at night," the Assassin spoke to her softly as he joined her in observing the many guards that were conducting their duties and patrolling about to ensure safety.

"What do you suggest?"

"We raid in the morning, before dawn and catch the night watch off guard," he replied. "There will be less guards milling about and the few will undoubtedly be sleepy or restless. Either way, we can get whatever we need if the guards are completely oblivious to our presence. What do you think?"

Yvanna thought long and hard for a while. She clearly did not like having her plans being pushed back because of a hitch that she never expected but the Assassin did have some sort of failsafe that she knew her mentor would kill or die for. True, she would have to wait a little longer but the reward seemed like a bigger catch than her life at the moment. If it were not for the Assassin and she had gone in following her original plan, she would have been caught, not to mention interrogated after that.

"Safety first, huh?" she asked him, wondering his intentions.

"Improvising the plan, if you are alright with it."

"Fine," she huffed, not particularly pleased at the sudden change of her plan. "We'll do it your way then. What time?"

"That is for you to decide," he answered, turning around and beginning to walk off. "Sometime between midnight and dawn would be preferable. I will meet up with you here whenever you feel ready to do this heist thing of yours."

With that, he left.

Yvanna sat down, still looking out toward the museum rather wistfully. She knew that going in now without someone experienced in infiltration as much as any Assassin would most likely get her killed or tortured for information.

As least the Assassin knew what he was doing, or what she supposed he knew what he was doing.

(*_*)

_**~Actual Raid~**_

_**Yvanna**_

"We're in people," she spoke to her group of thieves that had tagged along with her for the spoils. "Take as much as possible and don't get caught! Go!"

She turned around, expecting to see the Assassin at the piles of gold that had been clumsily gathered in the centre of the exhibit to deliver the impression of undiscovered treasure, gathering as much as he could with his two hands. She was proven wrong when she saw him in one of the dark corners where the documents and texts were being displayed. He walked over the threshold of the lacrima alarms and she was surprised that they did not set off.

_So it was him all this while… and I thought we were just lucky this whole time. No wonder there were no guards that greeted us except for one that was caught sleeping in the restroom. Did this Assassin deal with them all by himself? Could he have disabled the lacrima systems and taken care of the guards all by himself?_

She looked on as the Assassin casually lifted off the glass case that protected several pieces of parchment and paper and gently place it away from him, before taking the documents and filing them in his bag.

"Yvanna! Get a load of this treasure! I don't think we can carry anymore, hand over your pack!"

She headed over to her fellow thieves to help them in securing the loot as Ghost took a look at one of his loot; a thin paperback journal, just like his codex but without the leather.

(*_*)

_**Vergil**_

"_It is a terrible and yet beautiful thing to behold with eyes that see only its surface. No man can resist, even the strongest and most charismatic man to walk the earth would fall under its spell of power beyond recognition."_

Ghost looked around for the cube that he had seen earlier a few days ago and found it, quickly heading over to where it sat in its cradle and protected by its glass shield. He removed it just as easily as the previous glass case and took hold of the stone cube before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

He instinctively turned around to see Yvanna's scissor knife held at his neck.

"Mentor wants that particular piece, hand it over," she ordered.

"I see I was being used," Ghost quipped. He relented, dropping the cube into her free hand, causing a great squeal of excitement among the thieves and alerting the sleeping guards that the Assassin had worked so hard to drug with sedatives.

"Damn!" he cursed under his breath. It was not before long that shouts signalled the arrival of the museum guards closing in on their location.

In the blink of an eye, Ghost threw a smoke bomb on the ground as the guards entered the room. Taking advantage of the black smokescreen, he swiped the cube out of Yvanna's hand and made a mad dash for the exit on the second floor, using a window to get out of the museum and into the city's alleys. In the dark, he copied the symbols that were on the cube into his codex before making his way to the city gate to journey to Era and find some answers regarding the Templar situation.

It was a different situation at the city gates however when Ghost arrived there. He saw Yvanna, of all people, riling up the guards to go and hunt down the Assassin who had only recently murdered Kirintio Soncha a few days ago. Seeing no other way out of the city other than to fight, Ghost walked out into the open with his dagger in his right hand and his hidden blade in his left, into the full view of the numerous guards who immediately drew their weapons and surrounded him.

_Not many guards here to begin with… what in Earthland is she planning?_

"Get the Assassin! Kill hi—

NO! Wait! Run for your lives! AHH!"

_Too easy. _

Vergil felt for the cube that he had placed in his pocket, only to find that it was missing. He turned tail and saw a glimpse of Yvanna's boot retreating down the street, hoping to get as far away from him as much as possible.

Resigning himself to the fact that thieves steal better than Assassins, he made his way out of the unguarded gate and began his journey to Era, home of the magic council.

He walked in the general direction to Era along the path that he had chosen before taking a rest in the trees at the first light of dawn. He climbed up one particularly tall tree with thick branches and soon snuggled himself for a few winks of sleep.

By the time the sunlight had permeated through his eyelid, there was a loud cry for help along the dirt road and sees a few bandits harassing a young mother and her child.

"Get away from me you horrible bandits!" the young woman screamed. Her son stood behind her, clutching her leg in fear of the men who wore masks that covered the lower half of their faces.

"Such a pretty face you have there!" one of the bandits leered at her. "Why don't you relax and can have some fun time together huh? I know a place that has cheap lodging prices heheheh!"

"No! Get away! Please don't harm me or my son!"

"Your son? He looks too old to be your son," they jeered at her.

Ghost heard the entire exchange between them as he stole himself nearer through the canopy of the trees, silently leaping across gaps and swinging as silently as he could from the branches. The morning wind blew his Assassin garb's tails about and it rustled the nearby leaves rather noisily.

"What was that?" one of the bandits cautiously turned around to the source of the rustling sound.

The Assassin sped off into another tree and silently waited for the suspicion level to simmer down.

"Come on lady, we haven't got all day you know," the bandits droned at the woman. "Give us your money or give us your life!"

Ghost readied his hidden rope dart.

"No! Please!"

"That's enough!" the bandits drew their knives and paced their way towards her, surrounding the poor young woman and cutting off any possible means of escape.

Ghost shot out his rope dart and strangled the bandit that was nearest to the woman, snapping his neck and pulling himself toward the dead body and killing another one as he landed with his drawn dagger through the neck.

"What the—" the next bandit to die had his throat split wide open, the blood spraying out from his neck temporarily blinding his enemies and inflicting on them the illusion that they had been severely wounded, a look of pure terror locked into his face as his life was abruptly ended.

The Assassin took the opening and ended the lives of the bandits rather prematurely and flicked the blood of his weapons before turning to address the young mother and her son, who had stayed behind because they too were also frozen with fear at the killing intent of this new "bandit".

"I am not here to take your money or your life, miss," Ghost spoke slowly, extending a hand out to her.

"Then what are you here for?"

"I heard a call of distress and so I decided to come here and investigate." The Assassin looked around to check if there were any more bandits hiding nearby and found that the coast was clear.

"Who are you?"

"I am an Assassin."

"Thank you for saving me and my son," she cried.

"It was nothing, miss," Ghost gave her a small bow.

"You must be heading to Era too, mister—"

"Assassin!"

Inwardly, Vergil grimaced at the sound of the voice he had learned never to trust and cooperate with over the course of three days and night in succession. The three of them turned around to see the source of the sound running towards them.

_Yvanna Nataoshi. Great._

"Don't you dare move!" she shouted in between breaths as she neared the little group. She collected herself and began to berate him about how he was trying to steal a piece of treasure that the thieves in Crocus had been eyeing on for so long and that it was nearly taken away by a monk in a white hood. She also went on about how Ghost had somehow managed to change the text on the cube's faces and that the glyphs on which they were engraved were barely comprehensible to read and terribly impossible to understand.

"Why steal something that holds no value to you?" Ghost countered back with a question of his own. "If you do not know how to read these glyphs as you call them, how would you know if there was treasure inside or a map that would lead you to it to begin with?"

"You can read it! Tell me what it means!"

"I have no idea of what you are talking about," he replied. Turning to the young mother, he spoke, "I see you are on the road to Era. Do you mind if I join you on your journey there?"

"Not at all!" she smiled. "It's been a while since I had company from the gates of Dawn City."

"You came from so far?" he asked her kindly, ignoring the thief in front of him. "I hail from Gallowstown."

"Hey!" Yvanna's indignant tone burst out in a furious manner.

The little group continued on their way to Era, home of the magic council's Fiore branch and there were a few instances of highway bandits, to which the Assassin dealt with extreme prejudice and hatred, their being the cause of the loss of his parents when he was only a little boy.

Other than the bandits, there was the constant harassment from Yvanna the thief, whose endless questions threatened to break through his skull and gather all the grey matter in it for the questions that her master needed answering.

(*_*)

_**Yvanna**_

"Come on you mangy mutt," she cursed at him. "Tell me what you know about the cube!"

He remained silent, much to her great displeasure and heated chagrin.

"Please? Pretty please? Please please please with cherries on top?"

"Are you insane?" he rounded on her. She defiantly looked into his facemask as the young woman and her son stared curiously at the exchange from behind the Assassin's back.

"I do not eat cherries," he turned around and continued walking, "let alone eat anything with cherries on top."

Yvanna deadpanned, not having expected such a "badass" answer as the thieves in Crocus called it. She felt hurt, more like burned, but she held her displeasure inside and began plotting how to make a tight-lipped Assassin such as the one in front of her spill some secrets that her master was hounding her for.

"I'm begging you!"

"No."

She gave up, her will having been entirely spent on that sliver of hope that produced no results.

The rest of the journey to Era was rather short but felt like an eternity to her because of her downcast feelings. She was literally at her wit's end about this Assassin and she regretted having gotten him to help in the first place.

"If you so much as want to know a word that is on the cube, I suggest that you give it to me first to decipher it before you go back to Crocus with your tail in between your legs," the Assassin calmly spoke to her as the little group entered Era, the mother and her son parting ways with them.

She picked out an inn for them to rest in and immediately got the Assassin to work on deciphering that gibberish her master fumed about in frustration.

As he sat at the only desk in the room, she saw him take out a thin book with a demonic ghost's face splayed on the front leather cover. He opened it, a pen in his hand and took the cube from her, before twisting the cube this way and that like a children's puzzle and quickly arriving to a certain string of the words that she could not make sense of and copied it down.

"What's that mean?"

"You are interrupting my concentration."

"Really? That's what it says?"

"No," he set down the cube in a frustrated manner, "you are disturbing my progress here. Keep quiet or go outside and entertain yourself while I am working."

"Oh. Sorry."

"You should be," he growled, picking up the cube again, "after all the hell you have caused me the last few days."

Yvanna chose not to respond for fear of physical retaliation. After all, this man was an Assassin and just seeing him fight the guards at the city gate sent her to her knees, shivering in fear.

"Are you staying or are you leaving?" he asked her with another, more aggressive growl.

"Staying," she replied weakly.

"Then keep quiet and do not disturb me."

"Yes s—"

"What did I just say?"

Silence filled the room for a moment and Yvanna could have sworn that the birds outside had kept themselves quiet for fear of the Assassin's wrath.

"Good."

(*_*)

_**Vergil**_

He fiddled around with the cube for a few more minutes before deciphering its secrets.

_If I turn and twist it this way, it will give a different message. Since there are six sides, there should be a total of six hidden messages with the same glyphs in a certain string. _

Ghost twisted the cube and solved another message with the aid of his Eagle Sense and smiled to himself.

_That is the second one down._

He picked up his pen and wrote it down in his codex and proceeded on to deciphering the next few messages. At the end of the puzzle, he had found six different messages pertaining to the events in Edolas, an alternate universe apart from Earthland that his bloodline had originally come from and began reading it silently to himself, revisiting the language that his father had strictly instructed him to use when they were talking to each other. To his mother, the Edolas tongue was a secret language between father and son which annoyed her sometimes but was quite entertaining to watch when little Vergil could not find the correct term to express himself and gave a potential secret away.

"_Of these messages five are the warnings and tales that come with the dreaded Piece; only those that have the will of gods have the capability to wield the terrible power that it beholds."_

Vergil read them out in his mind, the first message from the cube that was obviously the first in a chronological order. The remaining five were in a mixed up order but there were certain clues in the writing that he knew were meant to indicate a time stamp, the Edolean language being very simple but capable of hiding multiple meanings very subtly without interceptors or prying eyes ever finding out about the true intentions. However, a true master of the language would be able to compose a letter and hide a completely different message underneath, showing how versatile the many glyphs were in conveying a message across.

"_When it arrived in the hands of the King, he was enlightened beyond the minds of angels; he was given the strength of a thousand men. He ruled the land with an iron fist just as it ruled his mind with its deathly grip."_

The Assassin knew that it was a Piece of Eden at work but he did not know that several of them still existed in Edolas, where he thought that majority of them had been taken through the anima portal into Earthland for safekeeping.

"_It was a tool, no, a weapon that was used without mercy, even on allies. Yet the King could not bear to have it leave his side."_

"_Under the influence of it, the King prospered and with it the kingdom but as he succumbed to the temptations, so too did the people fall under its alluring spell, only to realise that it would be very difficult to break out of their own prisons."_

"_You may have the opportunity to wield it in your hands; it will find the opportunity to wield you. Try to destroy it and it will destroy you."_

"_It is a treasure that both friend and foe will clamour, fight and kill to get, only to have it slip through their fingers that are soaked in blood."_

Vergil thought about these warnings and somehow he knew that a Piece of Eden was a factor in the writing of these messages. He had read the detailed accounts of what his ancestors had witnessed and he knew to trust their words with a little pinch of salt. He bit his lip, unsure of what to make of these warnings signs from Edolas and he set the little cube down onto the desktop.

As soon as he let go of the cube, it began to shake violently in its place before levitating a few centimetres above the table top at an isometric angle. Ghost jumped back with his hidden blade drawn and Yvanna had retreated to the door, unsure of what would happen next.

Without warning, the cube split into several smaller cubes to reveal a small piece of paper that fell through the gaps and onto the table with the same glyphs that Vergil had deciphered earlier. He cautiously teetered over to the desktop and peered over to see that there was another piece of writing in the Edolean language.

"_The documents! Read the documents!"_

_The documents? Does it mean the journal and the papers?_

He began rummaging in his bag before a blur rushed past him and swiped the cube and the paper before heading out the front door. Confused, the Assassin sat down on the bed and skimmed through the valuable information on the Piece of Eden that the current King of Edolas had in his possession before his instincts suddenly screamed at him to get out of the building.

He shot straight up and leapt out of the window just as Rune Knights barged into the room, having broken down the door with their magic staves.

He quickly recovered from his fall and looked up at the window.

_I guess they have almost found me. I need to be careful._

He turned to face the direction of the Magic Council headquarters and began making his way there, encountering little resistance in the form of petty thieves and little orphans begging him for a few jewels for their next meal.

When he had reached the entrance to the Magic Council, he began walking about the main lobby to watch and observe his surroundings before sitting down in a lounge chair.

Looking around, he saw many newspaper clippings just behind the reception desk on a request board but there was one that stood out to him above the rest. With his keen eye, he read the headline of the article that was clipped to the request, "Kirintio Soncha Assassinated during Charity Event!" and the request that it was attached to presented a bounty of a high sum, roughly 7, 000, 000 jewels in particular.

Musing happily to himself, he got up and began walking into the bowels of the building, casually walking past the many couriers and guards that assumed him as one of the captains of a division.

It was social stealth at its best and Vergil remembered his training with one of the people that he had least expected to learn social stealth from.

There were courtesans that he had met when he was younger and they viewed him as "cute and cuddly" which had riled him up. Seeing that he would become an Assassin, they offered to teach him ways to be visibly hidden, which his father agreed to immediately.

However, his luck did not last him long as he unintentionally and violently brushed shoulders with a captain who had his hair tied back and wore rimless glasses. The Assassin just casually walked on as if nothing happened.

"You there! Stop at once!" that man shouted.

Ghost stopped in his tracks but did not turn around to face him.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am looking for council member Leiji. Can you direct me to his office?"

"What is your relation to the council member? Have you made any previous appointments with the reception desk in the main lobby?"

Ghost opened his mouth to answer but before he could reply, another voice had joined in from his back.

"It is alright Lahar, I will take him to see Leiji," a sultry female voice answered for the Assassin.

Ghost turned around to see that he had come face to face with Ultear Milkovich, another member of the magic council. She was about the same height as Mirajane in his opinion and she was beautiful too, just not in his opinion.

"Follow me," she motioned to the Assassin, walking off and leaving Lahar, Head Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit, confounded.

"This way," she said and Ghost followed her instructions before walking through an oak door to see a room full of crystal balls.

She walked to her desk and sat on the table top, facing Vergil with a concerned expression on her face.

"Why are you here?" she questioned him.

"To find Leiji for answers before I kill him," he replied.

A pregnant pause resonated around the room as she thought about his answer, not expecting it at first before coming to terms with the situation that had only transpired a few days ago at Crocus.

"Who are you?" Ultear asked him with a gentler tone.

"I am an Assassin."

"Were you the assassin that killed Kirintio Soncha and raided a museum not long after?"

"I am that Assassin," Ghost replied, "although the museum stint was none of my intentions."

"I see," she quietly said to herself. Ghost heard her murmuring and wondered what on earth had she discovered.

"I am afraid I do not understand you," he spoke.

"Do you not know?"

"Know what?"

"There had been a recent recruiting stint here and the recruiting was performed by this group known as the Red Cross," she replied.

"The Red Cross?" he bobbed his head to one side in confusion.

"Do you know them?"

"I could say that I know," he thought for a while, "but please, carry on."

"So, they came down here out of nowhere and began recruiting every single person from Guran Doma to the receptionist at the front desk! It was outrageous and I for one did not tolerate any of their advances one bit. Not even a single appointment was made and the council was completely unaware of their arrival, yet seven of the ten members agreed to join this Red Cross organisation or whatever it is," she complained to the Assassin, letting out all her pent up frustration before collecting herself. To Vergil, it was her behaviour that caught him gaping in surprise due to the fact that she was one of the more serious and calm members of the magic council. He was very thankful that he had a mask on him wherever he went for such occasions.

"Do you know why they are recruiting everyone?" Ultear invaded his small thought, waking him up from his daydream.

"Huh?" he snapped back into reality, "oh, it is because they are raising an army to fight the Assassins. I have only recently found out about this; the only lead that I got from my last target led me here, to find Leiji and kill him for answers to my many questions."

Without warning, Ghost felt a strange presence behind him and quickly spun around on the spot to have his hidden blade poised and ready to follow through and pierce council member Siegrain's neck. Realising his mistake quickly, he withdrew the blade in a flash as Ultear looked on and Siegrain sporting an amused look on his face, the red tattoo wrinkling a little bit from his grin.

"I apologise for the sudden attack," Ghost gave a small bow of the head.

"It is nothing," Siegrain replied, running a hand through his blue hair. "Everyone makes mistakes, even I do."

"You seem different," the Assassin spoke, "like as if you are not physically here but posing as—"

"Thank you, Assassin," Ultear cut him off, "You may take your leave. Rest assured, I will contact you again regarding this matter and I hope to see you again soon."

"How will I contact you?" Ghost asked her.

"You may take one of the many crystal balls that you see with you before you go on your way."

"Thank you, Ultear-sama," Ghost bowed on his way out after having taken one of said person's many crystal balls on display on her office shelf.

The walk back to the building's exterior was uneventful but Vergil had taken extra care not to be seen by any of the division captains and officers. Upon reaching the front doors, he met Yvanna, knowing the reason why she was here but curious all the same as to how she had found him.

(*_*)

_**Yvanna**_

_Finally found him! Thank God! Now I won't get in trouble with Master for losing him. Sigh, this is one slippery son of a gun._

She walked up to the Assassin and immediately gave him a slap across the hood before shouting at him for leaving so quick without a moment's notice and not leaving behind a note about his whereabouts when she was in actual fact the one who had hightailed out of the inn first before the Rune Knights came in and barged the door down.

"Lady! What the hell was that for?" the Assassin yelled back at her, earning him another slap to the hood but strangely not falling off.

"You of all people! I should have never trusted you with something so simple!" she scolded him. He bobbed his head to one side, confused at her words and not sure of what she was saying or meaning at this point.

"What?" he asked her again, this time in a genuinely curious manner.

"You were supposed to tell me what that cube said, you idiot!" Yvanna flared, viciously slapping him over and over again.

"Alright alright! Keep your hair down," he spoke. "That cube was holding a message about a great power that is obtainable through very difficult and often underhanded means. However, this object is very dangerous and has been known to cut down many nations and kingdoms with corruption and espionage, so it says."

"Oh." Yvanna did not like the sound of that, particularly when she had gone to great lengths just to find him and get information on a promising lead to undiscovered riches. If there was one thing that she was definitely sure, it would be that her master back in Crocus was going to be just as disappointed as she was, if not more so.

"Are you done?"

The thief was pensive, wondering whether the Assassin's word could be trusted. "Are you absolutely sure that is what the paper in the cube said?"

"I am positive."

"Well…I guess I'm sorry for slapping you earlier," she apologised to which the Assassin nodded his head in acknowledgement, "I guess that was something I didn't want to hear so soon. Anyway, I think I'll just go and find something else to steal." She turned tail, facing towards Crocus, "Thanks for the warning! See you again soon!" she waved a hand as she began walking off.

(*_*)

_**Vergil**_

_Hmm. That is if I ever __**want **__to see her again. I should head back to Gallowstown and report back my findings to Lady Bianca before I forget anything else._

After finding a quiet and comfortable place on the train back to Gallowstown, Vergil began taking out the stolen documents and studied them, taking down notes into the codex. Through the many pieces of information and warnings depicted and described in great detail, he was able to ascertain that the Piece of Eden was in the form of a vambrace and that the current King of Edolas had been abusing its exceptional powers of illusion in conjunction with an Apple that was previously found, enslaving the land and siphoning magical energy from Earthland into Edolas through means of the Anima portal. The Vambrace of Eden kept the minds of the people in check and deceived the masses with an illusion of happiness and contentment while the Apple did only the luring of the greatest powers with its alluring temptation, from what Ghost could gather from the journal that was definitely written by an Assassin on the other side.

Bzz Bzz.

Vergil immediately rummaged his pack for the source of the vibration and pulled it out, surprised that a crystal ball could do such a thing. He looked at it and saw Ultear's name within and assumed that she wanted to talk things over with the ball of lacrima.

He picked up the call by giving it a slight squeeze and he saw her face, rather anxious about what he would tell given the flow of questions that she had to give him.

"Assassin, it's good to see that you are still in one piece," she greeted him.

"Likewise, Ultear-san," he greeted back in return.

"I'm sure you still remember why I'm calling you with my crystal ball."

"Absolutely," the Assassin nodded. "The recruitment drive conducted by the Red Cross."

"What are they really?"

"They are a secret organisation that aims to control the minds of men through power; forcing innocent people to surrender their free will," he replied simply.

"And you?" she added, "Why do you fight them for?"

"I'm afraid I am unable to tell you that myself. This is my order's secret, Ultear-san," his voice dropped slightly. "I am sorry. Simply put, we fight them to free humanity."

"Well, I suppose I can't have everything," she lamented. "What can you tell me?"

"There is not much currently that I know about their activities but I can roughly deduce what may happen within the next few months or so," he pondered a while before answering.

"Start from the beginning," she told him.

"As you wish," he replied. "I assume that you have heard the unnatural death of King Augustus VII a few months ago, yes?"

"Yes, yes I have," she said, eyebrows raised in confusion. "What does that have to do with the Red Cross?"

"It has everything to do with them. Originally the Red Cross was founded by another name a very long time ago but since their appearance within the pages of history, they have been relentlessly trying to fulfil their goal of total domination and the creation of a new world order by their own design. For many eons, they have toiled and have come close to fulfilling their goal with each death of the reigning monarch by replacing the previous King with one of their own."

"They rule the country now?" Ultear's eyes were as wide as the moon full of shock and worry.

"In a way, yes," he paused, "but they like to operate and control from the dark. Usually it is not just the King who is a member of the Red Cross but the entire government as well if the transition is smooth, save for a few good-willed people. In this way, they have full control of the country and its people, with no one able to mount up a quick resistance to their schemes and plans."

"If they rule the country, then why recruit?"

"To crush all forms of resistance before they manifest in the streets of Crocus. These new recruits are then given influential power and riches beyond the measure of an ocean, with which they arm themselves to the teeth and bone and surround themselves with protection far beyond what a king would require."

"But if they just wish to keep the populace in check, shouldn't the city guard be the one that is being equipped with new weapons?"

"Yes," Vergil replied. "That is what the people often mistake it as; an overestimation on security." He paused to gather his next few words. "What the Red Cross is actually preparing for,

Is war."

"What?!"

"What I say is only a foretelling of the things to come, Ultear-san," Ghost spoke, the conviction in his voice bearing one of a fortune teller's resolve.

"But-"

"Whatever it is that you are planning," he cut her off, "will work to your advantage if you do not ally yourself with these Red Cross people like Guran Doma and the rest of the magic council."

"How did you-"

"Trade secret."

"Thank god for that," she heaved a sigh of relief, which Ghost could see her wiping away the sweat on her brow.

"Assassin," she opened up a question to him, "Say, what if I were to help you and your order of Assassins with weapons and training?"

"Would you really do that?"

"I would in gratitude to you."

"The weapons would be appreciated but as for the training, we would have to politely refuse because we already have our own that has increased our survival rate through the centuries," he spoke softly. "If you would like to contact us, I can refer you to Lady Bianca of Gallowstown should you wish to talk with her over such matters."

"Thank you so much this valuable piece of information, Assassin. I hope to see you again sometime or hear from you," she greeted him farewell.

"Likewis—"

BOOM.

The train carriage shook and rocked on its wheel as an explosion was heard near the front of the train. Vergil's senses kicked into high gear and he sensed that the recent explosion was not too far from where his train compartment was.

Getting up, he shook his arms and legs to loosen them up before drawing his primary hidden blade and personal defense dagger before calmly walking out to meet several desert bandits who had boarded the train.


	7. Meet the Families

**A/N: Yo dudes! It's that time of the month again... I'm trying to keep the updates constant! Also, forgive me for any small grammatical and spelling errors that i may have overlooked. This is the last chapter for the Hidden Infamy arc for Vergil's side of the story… Don't worry there are still more Vergil related arcs to come! So, sit comfortably and prepare for a bit of filler-ish writing before Fairy Tail's Fighting Festival arc!If you have any queries of any kind regarding story progression, just add them in with your review and i'll probably answer them in the next A/N. tks!  
**

**Disclaimed; originality of Assassin's Creed and Fairy Tail goes to their respective owners. Extra names used in this story are purely coincidental and bear no insult whatsoever to any person or third parties. **

_**Meet the Families**_

_**~Flashback~**_

_**Vergil**_

"_Ghost, do you have any assignments currently?"_

"_No, what happened?"_

"_Nothing, nothing," Mirajane whistled away the suspicion coming from him. He locked his eyes on the back of her head, before resting his thoughts and gazing upwards to see the birds flying about high above their heads._

_The two of them were in the city centre, just outside the town hall and they were just taking a casual stroll carrying grocery bags as a cover for Ghost. As usual, the town square was crowded at this time, with other townsfolk milling about the lazy Friday morning going about their daily lives._

_There was a prolonged silence between the two of them as they headed back to the newly reconstructed Fairy Tail guild house to deposit the groceries before the rest of the guild arrived. Vergil noticed this and wondered what had happened here during the days he spent in Crocus on assignment. He knew that Mira was often chatty about certain issues relating to the guild but strangely she was rather…quiet, and he did not know why._

"_Um, Ghost?" he heard her sweet voice call him nervously._

"_What is it?" he replied with a kind tone, not wanting to sound bothered._

"_Would you like to go on a date with one of my friends?" she timidly asked him._

"_There is nothing to be afraid of, Mira," he coaxed her out of her shell of timidity. "I do not always bite. Besides, I have some time before my next assignment arrives, I think. I should expand my social circle at the very least. Who is the lucky woman today?"_

"_You will?" she exhaled in relief, inwardly rejoicing that he had opened himself up to the idea of more friends, Vergil could tell. "Do you remember Cana?"_

"_I think I do," he gave her a small laugh. "Alright, when, where and what time do we meet?"_

"_How about later," she paused to think of a good meeting place, "at the Kardia Cathedral gates at about, say, lunchtime?" _

"_Alright, one o' clock at the cathedral gates." Vergil made a mental note._

_**~End Flashback~**_

** (*_*)**

_**Vergil**_

He sat down at a bench just beside two strangers beside the cathedral gates at the stipulated time, waiting for Cana Alberona to enter his field of vision so that he could appease Mira and hopefully get her to stop her matchmaking fantasies.

It had been five minutes until Mira and Cana appeared, looking high and low for the Assassin as he stood up and silently made his way over to them, his feet padding the cobblestone church square.

He walked up behind them with a rather silent "hello", and scared the both of them outright.

Mira recovered from the shock and playfully slapped Ghost on the shoulder before Cana did. Realising that the half-drunk woman was still rather sober and had recovered from the scare, Mira grabbed her by the shoulders and placed her in front of the Assassin.

"Ghost, this is Cana," Mira smiled sweet and innocently as Ghost saw the hint of cheekiness in the blush of her cheeks. "Cana, Ghost."

Cana gave him a stare and there was a strange look on her face as he bobbed his head to one side, unsure of the next course of action. Quickly thinking of something that women would like **(A/N: note the word WOULD)**,he extended his hand out to her, which she took rather uneasily and shook it.

"A pleasure," the two spoke uneasily but trying to fool the barmaid matchmaker into believing the charade.

"Somewhat," he whispered, only so that Cana could hear it. She gave a small laugh which Mira took as a good sign and promptly moved on to the next aspect of a date, although blind, but still a date.

"Where do you want to go for your date?"

"Happy hour!" Cana chirped, earning a smack across the back of her head and causing Ghost to sweatdrop.

_I thought happy hour only started before dinner? We have not even eaten lunch yet… How much can this woman drink? Well, I should comply with the lady's wishes to cover my ass and be done with it._

"No," he spoke, getting their attention, "I think that happy hour is just fine."

"Okay! Let's go!" Cana promptly grabbed on to his hand and sped towards the nearest bar, leaving Mirajane behind and confused.

At the bar, it was a rather different behaviour that Cana had that made him concerned. She did have a few strong drinks but she was able to hold her liquor well, something that he knew would need training with if he wanted to become properly known among the underground for.

After downing her second glass of beer, Cana set down the glass noisily and looked at the Assassin, who had nothing in front of him.

"Never drank before?"

"No, not really. I often find myself doing things other than drinking, although this is not the first time I have been in a bar like this."

"Oh? You've been to other bars?"

"Extremely rowdy ones."

"What do you often do there?"

"Fight," he said simply, "sometimes with weapons." He said it as though it was a normal occurrence everywhere else, which was often the case with him.

"In that case," she ordered the strongest drink the bar had before setting it down in front of him, "let me educate you on the rules of drinking."

"Rules of drinking?" he asked, incredulous that such a thing existed.

"Rule number 1..." Cana began, ignoring him and beginning to teach him the rules of drinking.

**(*_*)**

_**Cana**_

_It definitely seems that this Zentopia monk Ghost can hold his liquor well. Already on his second strong drink and he's still as alert as an alley cat hunting rats._

Cana had drunk quite a lot of beer and wine that particular afternoon.

Now, she was back at the guild and thinking about her little blind date with a man who had so many weapons on him she dared not to ask about. The man was in essence a true gentleman, even though he did not like one, and it left her with a sense of justice and accomplishment, having got to go on a binge drinking spree with him. She did not know what his true intentions were in going out with her but she suspected that he went through with it to get Matchmaker Mira out of his hood with regards to his love life.

As a true gentleman, she expected him to be there for her at her every beck and call and while she had been rather upset due to his delayed response (and to the amount of alcohol); he had in fact been on the lookout for her now that she had time to reflect on the day's events.

_A gentleman, _she smiled, _something Fairy Tail men can never understand at all. In fact, the last time I heard Fairy Tail had a gentleman was…never._

It was then that Mirajane had chosen to go over to the table she was sitting on top of and relieve her of the now empty wine bottle that lay skittered about her crossed legs. Cana noticed a smile that graced the face of Fairy Tail's drawing card and knew what she was going to ask when she opened her mouth to speak.

"How did your date with Ghost go?"

"It was…interesting, to put it simply," Cana replied.

A silence ensued between the both of them, daring either to begin the next sentence in the conversation.

"You like him."

"Who?"

"You like Ghost, right?" Cana pressed. "Go talk to him! Tell him how you feel!"

"Shh! Not so loud!" Mira shrieked, turning the attention on her. Embarrassed, she assured everyone that all was alright and they should continue doing whatever it was that they were doing.

After that, the barmaid quickly sat down on the bench and in a hushed tone told her to keep it quiet, especially when it concerned Ghost.

"Sheesh, you could have said it earlier," Cana scoffed playfully.

"But," Mira began stammering, "won't you—"

"Nah," she droned, "your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you."

"But don't you find it funny that Ghost and Mystogan have the same odd behaviour? I wonder what they would do together… Do you know if Mystogan is coming back for the Harvest festival?"

"No I don't," Mira walked off to dispose of the empty glass bottle, leaving Cana alone to herself.

Cana thought about the many things that Mystogan could do that Ghost would join in but seeing as she did not know either of them well enough, she decided to draw out her cards and do some fortune telling, the first of her many targets being Levy.

**(*_*)**

_**Vergil**_

The Assassins had gathered on the western side of the city, at the West Forest near the hills overlooking Magnolia. The reason why he was here with half of the den Assassins was because Ultear had intercepted a message about an attack by several dark guilds on Magnolia and that they would advance from the west. Vergil had relayed the information to the den leader by placing an urgent note in his office without being detected and it was not before long that he, as well as another seventy Assassins, were being called out to go and defend Magnolia for an important reason.

Now, he was being briefed on his instructions, having formed a team of eight earlier with four Mercenaries, two Disciples and one other of Assassin rank.

"Alright!" the den leader called out from the outskirts of the West Forest, "this is the only way into Magnolia without having to go through the main roads. As such, you all know that enemies love to use the shadows to sneak in and cause havoc. We must not let any dark guild through or into the Magnolian streets or we are done for!"

At this, the multitude in white ran silently towards the edge of the Forest out of the view of the townsfolk who had wondered what was going on. Vergil and his team quickly found a suitable choke point and set up camp before staking out the surroundings and setting down to wait.

**(*_*)**

_**Mirajane**_

"Alright everyone, dinner's ready!" she called out to the rest of the guild hall.

"OI!" everyone was psyched that dinner had arrived.

_Strange, no one I've ever met has been so psyched about dinner before…_

After she served dinner and had returned to the bar to make a sandwich, following which she sat down and watched the guild through her eyes. Of the guild members that were present, most of them were peacefully eating their dinner while the more boisterous members were banging their table with one hand and feeding themselves with the other.

This was an interesting time in the guild that was rarely seen from the usual brawls that were a common occurrence. Munching on her sandwich, she saw Elfman roaring his way through his "manly" dinner and Juvia pining for an absent Gray.

She did not how it started without the dynamic duo of fire and ice but, another brawl began.

Mira smiled, looking around the guild hall and began laughing silently to herself before seeing the small figure of Master Makarov cross-legged on the table smiling to himself, seeing his "children" playing around before seeing them off home. The guild members began going off one by one, slowly emptying the guild hall before the last one left, the guild hall rather beaten up and in shambles.

It was not long before Mira got up and looked down on the destruction that the guild had caused. Slowly, she picked up the glasses, mugs and plates that lay askew on the floor and placed them on the counter nearest to the sink, intending to wash them and dry them later before freezing the glasses overnight. It made her feel like a mother cleaning up after her unruly children.

Heading back to the upturned tables, she began arranging the chairs back to their proper places before laboriously turning the tables the right side up one after another.

By the time she was done with her chores, it was already two in the morning and she decided to head back home for a few hours of sleep. She locked the guild doors and walked home, falling into slumber the moment her head touched the pillow.

**(*_*)**

_**Vergil**_

_~Codex Entry~_

_Ninth month, Twentieth day, Year X784._

_It is the first day of defense against the dark guilds. So far, there has been no sign of them from the south-western thieves' highway. I hope the information that Ultear gave me was accurate… It seems that things have been proceeding peacefully as planned but it also seems that the novices and the apprentices are becoming restless. _

_My team here is rather experienced in combat although there has not been enough time to come up with a proper discussion on tactics. It is very apparent that we are hardly prepared for a full frontal assault from the west and we were not given any rations to begin with. _

_I have taken the first night watch and I have scouted ahead to see what we are up against. Never have I been so shocked to see what we were truly up against._

_What I saw was a whole camp of dark mages preparing for assault for God knows when but they certainly seemed like they looked ready to strike Magnolia. There were weapons of all sorts that were near tents and barrels of gunpowder were stocking the firearms of the lesser mages who knew little magic._

_I decided to intervene._

**(A/N: if this part of the story was a key memory/mission in an AC game, the objectives would be:**

**Sabotage weaponry and gunpowder**

**Identify and eliminate the seven guild aces**

**Steal the battle plans**

**Full Sync: Kill two guild aces with one shot from the sniper rifle **

**Constraint: Being detected will cause desynchronisation.**

**HAHA…just being creative :D Let's continue…)**

_I managed to return to the camp undetected and it was there that I studied the battle plans closely. Hopefully the dissention that I created by killing the guild aces will be enough for the enemy to thin their own ranks._

_Anyway… I hope Mirajane is alright…what she does not know will not hurt her. Sometimes I wonder, what would a day in the life of Mirajane Strauss be like?_

**(*_*)**

_**Mirajane**_

RING! RING!

Mira woke up with a start, a moan escaping from her lips. Turning her head so that her heavy lidded eyes could see the time on her alarm clock, she saw that it was six-thirty in the morning; the sun was not due to fully rise in about half an hour's time.

With a sigh, she heaved her herself out of bed and into the bathroom across the hall outside with her usual maroon dress in her hand.

By the time she was out and ready to begin the day proper, it was already past an hour and Mira left the house with a still Elfman sleeping on the couch. She immediately headed to the market to buy food for the guild enjoying the company of the people that she met in the streets.

As she walked back to the guild with the groceries in tow, she felt that something was off about today but unsure of what it was.

Strolling down the street, she smiled at her many suitors-to-be who had been following her around ever since the day started. She ignored them but felt that their presence here was a little too overwhelming. She had never felt so nervous before down Marcanoli Centre Boulevard and it was beginning to get to her. Mira racked her mind for a possible answer, her head tossing back in a sigh as she looked towards the morning sky.

It hit her; it was something she had not seen yet.

_That's it, where are the Assassins? Furthermore, where is Vergil? Isn't he around exercising in the morning?_

It seemed that the rooftops were empty of the white hooded people this morning. It was not known if they had suddenly left Magnolia but whatever it was, Mirajane felt a sense of longing for them, having been used to such sights every morning, particularly with that of the occasional Vergil helping her with her groceries, other times passively watching her from the rooftops and waving her a two fingered salute when she acknowledged him.

_I hope that Vergil is alright, wherever he is…_

Fishing for the guild keys as she reached, she opened the door and strolled her way to the bar, placing the groceries in the bar larder cabinet before getting a wet rag out to wipe the tables for the incoming guild members who would arrive soon.

She had just finished wiping the table free of dust when Nab and another fellow Fairy named Warren Rocko, a member she had not seen in a long time, stepped through the guild's open doors.

"Yo! Mira!"

"Warren! How was your trip to the west coast?" Mira asked of him with a smile, concerned about any mission hitches that he may have encountered.

"It was manageable," the telepathic mage replied verbally. "Gallowstown was a complete nightmare, I don't want to go back ever again," his telepathic voice shuddered in her head.

"Tell me about it later," Mira consoled him with a kind and caring tone.

It was not long after that member after member filed into the guild hall and Mirajane began serving breakfast after breakfast. The guild atmosphere had not set in yet but there were the constant whines of one particular new member.

"Gray-sama! Please come back quickly!"

"Juvia," came Levy McGarden from another table which she shared with Shadow Gear, "Gray will come back soon, so please keep it slightly less noisy."

Juvia Loxar did keep her volume down after that, only to flood the guild hall with her tears. Literally. Many of the members were swept away by the currents and most were bewildered that Gray had suddenly found himself an admirer in such a short span of time since the Phantom Lord incident, as they now called it.

Juvia's little flooding of the guild hall became a catalyst for another brawl, for whatever reason Mira could not honestly be bothered with, namely because the brawls occurred for trivial reasons.

"You little brats!" came a gruff voice appeared from the guild's entrance. "We have a new member!"

Makarov walked through the guild doors, a malevolent shadow trailing in behind him. As soon as the second person and newest guild member stepped into the doors, Fairy Tail took up arms and prepared for the worst, the scars from the war with Phantom Lord still fresh in their minds.

Standing behind Makarov was Gajeel Redfox, the man who had destroyed the previous guild building and had wounded Shadow Gear's pride and almost killed them. Now, he had his hands in his pockets and was looking down on the ground with a look of indifference on his face.

"Everyone, this is Gajeel Redfox and he is our newest member," announced Master.

Mira looked at him in bewilderment, shocked that he had made a seemingly random decision about recruitment without even consulting her, Erza or any of the other members.

"Yay!"

All heads rounded on Juvia, who was overjoyed at the fact that her friend had joined her in Fairy Tail as well from her recommendation to Master, not wanting to be alone initially.

"Um, Juvia will just wait over there…" the water mage awkwardly shuffled off to one side of the hall.

"Master, that's outrageous! You can't possibly make HIM a member! He destroyed our guild!" several of the Fairies cried out, with others affirming them strongly.

"Shut up brats!"

_~After some explaining and more objections…~_

"Um," Mira began nervously, scared of what he could do to her, "Gajeel, where would you like your guild stamp?"

Without even acknowledging her, he pointed to his left shoulder in a quick gesture.

"Alright," Mira brandished the guild stamp and gently pressed it onto his shoulder and after a few seconds, the magical stamp ink had settled and produced a black Fairy Tail guild upon the stamp's removal. "Here you go," she said as she withdrew.

"Thanks," Gajeel muttered quietly with an indifferent tone. Then with his normal behaviour he asked her, "Do you have any nuts and bolts to eat?"

"I'm not sure about that, Gajeel, but why don't I show you around the guild before I get some nuts and bolts for you?"

"I only want the nuts and bolts."

The next few seconds were in a frenzy and Mira had no idea what was going on. It must have had something to do with the way that Gajeel had spoken to her that had riled up many male members, the most prominent ones being Wakaba and Elfman. Before either could open their mouths and deal some serious damage to the still relaxed Iron Dragon who had no intention of returning any sort of retaliation, Mira placed herself in between them and calmed them down.

"It's alright, just give him some time to settle down!" Mira said sternly to the group in front of her, their weapons raised but expressions fixed in astonishment.

After the commotion had died down and dissipated, Mira resumed her barmaid duties as her mind drifted off to the earlier hoorah, noting that Gajeel had not made any effort to retaliate or indicate that he was in any way aggressive.

_He's trying to fit in but he's being misunderstood, sadly. I hope he finds new friends soon._

(*_*)

_**Vergil**_

_Taking the fourth watch of the day and still no sign of the dark guilds._

"You know," he heard a voice from behind him a few meters away, "seeing as we're all brothers and sisters, we should get to know each other right? I mean, what's the point if we are comrades but are not bonded together as the Creed instructs us?"

"I agree with you but mainly because I know you so well, Mitchell," replied a female next to him. Vergil could hear their conversation, which was beginning to attract the attention of the other Assassins as well.

"Why not we go around with the introductions and our rank to pass the time eh?" the female Assassin raised her suggestion with an upbeat tone. "My name is Sonia, and I'm of mercenary rank. Mitchell here is also a mercenary." She gestured a hand to Mitchell as Ghost turned his head to look at them before turning back to watch the southern forest path below him as he sat on his perch. He noted that the two mercenaries were some of the four that were not posted on "watchman" duty, as it was commonly known amongst the novices.

"Name's Johnston," came a voice at the campfire, "this here's Poientso and we're both disciples."

"Wait, what's his name again?"

"Poientso," the other disciple spoke, his voice heavy with an eastern accent Ghost could not associate. "P. O. I. E. N. T. S. O. Poientso. Dammit, I always get asked that every single time," the man grumbled the last sentence to himself as Johnston laughed.

"Habi here," came another eastern accent from the northern pass, this time not as strong as Poientso's. "I'm a merc."

"Lindsay, merc." another female Assassin spoke from the direction of Magnolia. Her voice was light and sweet, if not a little too cold for Ghost's tastes.

"Kai. Recently attained the Assassin rank," the oriental man spoke. His hood was down, exposing his face, mainly because he was drinking some water from the wineskin that hung around his torso. He was watching over the western path, where the dark guilds were expected to attack. "How about you up there?" Kai motioned to Vergil.

There was a quick moment of silence that went by unnoticed as Ghost shuffled about his position to sit comfortably on the thick branch that he had perched himself on.

"Ghost. I am of veteran rank."

"Pleased to meet your acquaintances," spoke Mitchell with a nod of his head.

"Likewise," replied Poientso. A few others chimed in as well.

The late afternoon sun had been beating down on Magnolia city since morning but since the Assassins had taken a precautionary measure against the impending trouble, they had the cool and shade of the West Forest to protect against the sun.

Ghost had been watching the western pass for about two hours and was not due to finish for another hour and a half. To make his time more productive, he had archived information into the codex rather leisurely and was currently cleaning his last article about the Harvest Festival and Fantasia Parade when Mitchell had decided that introductions were in order.

Inside, he felt bad to have to lie to his comrades, his nakama, as Mira would put it. However, he had no idea how to break the truth out to them, seeing as they had been trained to believe that they were the very best Assassins when they were inducted into the order. To tell them his bloodline's history now would be a waste of his breath and time, not knowing how they would even take this piece of information.

Even if they were not Assassins, it would still be difficult for them to acknowledge the fact that there was someone who was always behind the impossible successes. Hell, even Mirajane had trouble coming to grips that those of the "Ghost" bloodline had behaved like ghosts, literally, leaving no one and nothing to chance, yet sparing them and causing a pandemonium with effects that when pieced together to find a cause, made absolutely no sense whatsoever. After he had introduced himself to the barmaid properly, Vergil had taken a full seven days over the course of a month to tell her what she should know about him and about his bloodline, proving it to her when they were at Balsamico Castle for Aceto Balsamico's purportedly sabotaged marriage ball.

_I will not risk uproar within the Assassin Brotherhood .The repercussions will be too great to handle, even for the wisest of leaders. Let whatever that should be hidden, stay hidden._

"I am going off for a walk. I will probably be back just in time for dinner," Ghost announced as he dropped down from his branch and began walking on the western pass, straight into the hornet's nest.

"Are you mad?" Kai scolded him.

"Do not worry about me," Ghost replied in a slow, nonchalant manner. "I will not get detected so easily."

"We have a proud lone wolf here," Vergil heard Poientso speak as he exited the camp.

_~Dinner Time~_

"So, how was your walk?" Lindsay asked Ghost as he sat down with a mash tin containing some noodles and soup.

"Uneventful," he replied, taking a pair of disposable chopsticks, breaking them apart before swiping them on each other to remove splinters so that he could begin eating.

"What were you out there looking for, if it was uneventful?" Johnston barged in the conversation.

"Food. Meat in particular."

"What did you find?"

"Some rabbits and racoons," Ghost slurped his noodles quietly, before continuing, "nothing more, unless you count frogs."

"Bleagh," Habi pulled a face. He set down his own bento and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief before saying, "Who the hell eats frog?"

"You'd be surprised, Habi," replied Kai. "Say, don't you lot have more interesting stories than hunting frogs?"

"I had a bit of fun with some pirates from Bosco once. Man, that was really good fun," Mitchell began running his mouth. "Boarding Templar ships before looting all their treasure before burning the vessel on fire was an everyday event to look forward to."

"Any pirate could do that," Poientso waved it off. "Imagine a beautiful city that had all the many women in the world and you would still be unsatisfied," he reminisced.

"Because mainly they were all ugly?" quipped Johnston to the chagrin of the daydreaming Assassin and to the entertainment of the rest, who cackled like old witches.

Ghost gave a small chuckle, "good one right there."

"Thank you!" Johnston got up and bowed, spilling his mash tin which had been on his lap and creating more raucous laughter, earning himself a new nickname: Joker.

"What about you Ghost?" Sonia gestured to him after the laughter had died down. "You've been quiet the whole time since dinner started."

"Hmm… Interesting stories, huh?"

"Yea! We know you have some good ones! You were reading them the whole afternoon!" Habi chirped, before taking a bite out of his remaining half wrap.

"Let's see…" Ghost racked his head before his thoughts rested on that of a particular barmaid employed by Magnolia's resident guild.

"Alright, I have it." He exhaled, gathering his thoughts and opening up his tale with a question, "Do any of you know Mirajane Strauss?"

"The model from Fairy Tail?" some of the male Assassins swooned, "that woman is a dream."

"I happen to know her."

"We all happen to know her," Kai interjected, "don't you think that it would be the other way round that makes your story interesting?"

"I do, and I was getting to that," Ghost calmly replied. "She knows me too."

"What?!" the rest were caught in surprise, uncertain to believe his tale because really, if you could not get ahead of the admirers outside the guild, what made you think you could get ahead of those inside, especially when they are the rowdiest bunch of people?

"It all started with an assignment to recover a lost artefact for the Brotherhood," Ghost began, "on the way to Fairy Tail, where the objective was, I met her at a local bakery after helping her carry her guild's grocery shopping. When I arrived at the guild, I found the objective before being confronted about it and was challenged by Erza Scarlet over it. She made a wager and I made mine, mine being that I get to spend a day with Mirajane Strauss because of what I had seen; a woman caring for rowdy children tirelessly."

"Does she dress like a slut?" Sonia brought up a question.

"Sorry?"

"Does Mirajane dress like a slut?"

"No," said Vergil. "She dresses quite conservatively if that is what you are asking about."

"I don't believe that an Assassin such as you can make friends with someone so famous!" Mitchell cried out indignantly.

Before Vergil could speak and explain, there was a rustling sound in the bushes all around them and the group immediately put down their food and drew their weapons. He doused the campfire, shrouding the Assassins in darkness as they readied themselves at the choke points that they had set up.

Readying his dagger and hidden blade, he watched as several silhouettes clumsily stole through the bushes before yanking the last one up in the air and gutted him, creating an atmosphere of panic.

"Ghost!" Vergil heard his name being called. He looked over to Kai, his dual cutlasses drawn, who said, "That tall tale of yours will have to wait. Hold the line Assassins!"

A war cry sounded out but Vergil had dashed into the fray, intending to make the most of the distance between him and Magnolia.

With every swipe in the dark that he executed, a few more cries for help sounded out. The enemies in the dark had no idea of what it was that was assaulting them so early when they were the ones doing the actual assault on Magnolia, hoping to recover something known as "Lumen Histoire", something of great value that Ghost had managed to glean from the reverse pages of the battle plans that he stole.

"Quick you fools! Light up some torches!" Vergil heard one enemy shout. He dove into the bushes and waited as light threatened to shine through the leaves in the night.

There was fighting all around and the clashing of weapons and firing of guns could be heard for miles; no doubt Magnolia wondering what all the fuss was about.

Thinking quickly, Ghost bounded out of the bush and landed on the dark mage holding on to the torch and assassinating him with the hidden blade, quickly grabbing a hold of the lit torch and thrusting into the face of the nearest enemy who dared to come close. Setting fire to the next enemy's clothes, he drew his dagger and began another killing spree, aiming for the vitals and covering the other Assassins by thinning out the numbers of dark mages here.

After a while, Vergil could have sworn he had taken out at least a good portion of enemies before feeling overwhelmed, mainly because he was utilising his fists to disarm his enemies and kill before dropping the current weapon and disarming another one effortlessly. He was slowly being pushed back to the edge of the camp, where the other Assassins helped him out before being occupied with their own enemies. The fighting felt endless and Ghost knew that if there were no reinforcements, Magnolia would be overrun by dawn.

"Hey Ghost!" the ghost Assassin heard Mitchell calling him above the clashing of swords.

"What is it?!"

"I still don't believe that you are friends with Mirajane!"

"What the hell?!" Kai deadpanned, slashing across his dark mage's chest before using the other cutlass to impale the heart.

"I'm willing to bet five thousand jewels for a picture of you and Mirajane!" Mitchell ignored him. Habi, who was not very far off with his crossbow in his hand, quickly agreed to the bet.

More fighting ensued and there was no way that at least one of the Assassins would come out unscathed after the night's ordeal.

_Hold out for another three hours, Assassins. Dawn is almost upon us._

Vergil clawed his way past the enemies and had managed to get back to the choke point that he had been pushed from earlier, swiping them across the chest with his left hand and drawing copious amounts of blood where he had viciously attacked.

When the sun had lit up the sky, the enemies began their retreat, not knowing that it was not seventy Assassins that had cut down their numbers by a huge margin,

But one.

Ghost had taken out the equivalent of at least two legal guilds out of the seven dark guilds that had tried to assault Magnolia and the remainder was dealt with by the rest of the Assassins who had participated in Magnolia's defense.

When all the Assassins in Kai's detail had gathered back at the camp, Ghost suggested raising the bet by another 2000 jewels for an unplanned meeting with Mirajane, not knowing why he was adamant to prove his relationship with her.

"Alright," the other seven agreed, wanting to get a little extra money for their own at the expense of a delusional man.

"I hear she stays near here," Mitchell spoke after affirming the agreement. "About ten blocks south-east of here if I'm not wrong."

"I will be heading to Kardia Cathedral to rest," Ghost announced, "If she happens to be there then I would not know what to do with my money, unless you want to prove me wrong?"

_~An hour later~_

Vergil had taken a quick nap in his hideout as the sun shone through the east window of his little nest. He looked out of it and gazed down to see that there was a familiar white head in the church cemetery.

_What kind of luck do I have with her? It is not like we have a sudden affinity, do we?_

The Assassin saw Mira standing in front of a particular gravestone before leaping out of the bell tower and into a leaf pile silently. He emerged out, noticing several white hoods that were training their ears on him and Mira, keen to hear what the two might say this early in the morning.

Vergil approached her softly from behind.

"Lisanna Strauss," he read as he stood next to her. "She was your sister, yes?" he asked Mira kindly.

"Ghost?" she looked up at him before her sad gaze fell back onto Lisanna. "Yes, she was my sister, my youngest sister."

"Why are you here, Mira?" Vergil asked her gently.

"I would go and talk to her before special holidays like the Harvest Festival and Hanami and so on," she replied. "It would feel like I'm not leaving her out."

"I am sure she would be happy to know that she has someone to converse with frequently," Ghost placed a hand on his chest and bade a small bow to the gravestone, "_**Mottenmeisubeshi**_."

He turned to face her and she began to tell him about Lisanna.

"She was always a bright and cheerful girl," Mira recounted, "there was never a time when you would see her angry or sad, or bitter about anything. Sometimes, it was her that I looked up to so that I could keep my behaviour under control.

"I don't know what happened on the night she died," her voice quivered. Vergil placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her emotions. "It all happened in a flash. Elfman's Take Over had failed and I had been beaten by that King Beast. I told Lisanna to run away and I knew that I was the next one to die. As Elfman towered over me, Lisanna came back and stood in between me and Elfman. You know what was the next thing she said?"

"No, no I do not."

""Come on Elf-niichan, let's go back home!" she said that, she said that with a smile," Mira exhaled. The ghost Assassin could see that she was on the verge of tears. "Elfman swatted her like a fly and I was in shock. I was weak; I couldn't even protect my little sister!"

It was then that Mira let the tears fall silently while grief wracked her entire being. Ghost could see that the wounds were still fresh and that it would undoubtedly take a long time to heal such wounds, as it did for himself when his parents were forcibly taken from him.

Wordlessly he pulled her into a gentle and comforting embrace and she did nothing to pull away from him. Vergil held the back of her head with his left hand and let her cry into his shoulder while his right arm held her close for support.

_To win a bet this way is shameful. I am sorry Mira, truly sorry._

His senses felt the seven Assassins leave the cemetery quietly; it was out respect for a grieving person, and death was never something to be taken lightly, even more so for any Assassin. He held her close as she was still crying and he soon felt her tears soak his robes at the shoulder.

Spotting a bench nearby, he slowly moved her so that they could sit on it and give Mira a few more minutes to grieve over her loss.

Eventually, the tears died down and Mira looked at him with a grateful look on her tear stained face before hugging him once more.

**(*_*)**

_**Mirajane**_

"Thank you, Ghost," Mira whispered into his ear.

"Vergil is more appropriate here," she heard him whisper back. "He lost his parents when he was so young, not Ghost."

"Vergil," she said, letting his name roll on the tip of her tongue.

"Shh. I am here if you need me."

"Thank you Vergil," she thanked him earnestly.

"Once is enough," he replied gently, running a hand through her hair. She felt his hand through her hair, slowly massaging her scalp; she liked it.

Looking at her watch, she realised that she was going to be late and hastily got up to the surprise of Ghost.

"I-I have to go back," Mira stammered. She inhaled deeply before asking him, "Would you like me to make you some breakfast?"

"It is alright, you do not have to," Vergil kindly refused her offer, clearly not wanting to overwork her so early in the morning. "I can find my own food, if you prefer." Mira watched him stand up and turned to face her, "What would you have me do, my beautiful lady?" he spoke like a servant, intending to lighten her mood, which he did successfully.

She smiled at him and took him by the left hand and began to walk back to Fairy Tail, "I'll make you breakfast, okay?"

"Hmph," he laughed, "I guess your wish is my command."

Back at the guild, Mira could not see anyone that had already entered, since it was a weekend day and it most probably that most of the guild members were sleeping in.

She made him sit down at the bar before making her way to the coffee maker and took out the ingredients for latte as well as taking out some croissants from the refrigerator to place in the oven. She was about to mix the coffee into the machine before she felt a hand stop her.

"Let me do it," Vergil suggested to her, "Please take a seat; I will be with you shortly."

Mirajane was surprised at his words; Vergil, making latte? The man was full of surprises wherever he went and this one was one that she had not expected.

His back to her, she saw him mulling about with the coffee before muttering to himself that the mixture was a little bit too bitter for a morning drink. Her eyes saw him dart for the brown sugar that was next to the white sugar jar and saw that he was calculating every teaspoonful.

"…but I will have to take into account the amount of creamer that I will add in later…"

When he had placed the mixture into the coffee maker, he turned to her, not knowing that she had not eaten her croissants yet.

"Not eating yet?"

"I'm waiting for you," she replied softly, her breathing now consistent as compared to her earlier breakdown. "I didn't know you were a barista," her tired eyes quirked themselves up in amusement.

"Well, I am full of surprises," he let out a small chuckle, "which reminds me, what picture would you like on your cup of latte, Miss Strauss?"

"Hmm…" Mira placed a finger on her chin in thought, "a little dove? With an olive branch in its beak?"

"Whoa," the Assassin cocked his head back, "I see you have very high expectations. No worry," he gave an okay sign, "I will try my very best."

DING!

"One dove with an olive branch coming up," Ghost announced. With his back turned to her and creamer in his hand, he began his art piece, finishing in a matter of a few seconds.

She saw his handiwork when turned back to face her, a cup of latte in his hands and the art on it exactly the way that she had imagined. She gave a small gasp of delight and turned her attention back to Vergil, who was drawing a leaf in his coffee.

Once done, the two of them sat next to each other and began to eat their breakfast in silence. Mira glanced around the guild hall, not seeing anyone taking a seat or walking through the oak doors on a Saturday morning. She took a croissant from the plate that they were sharing and quietly nibbled on it, enjoying the Assassin's company as he slowly ate and drank.

"Tired?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she affirmed. "Some goons were celebrating the Harvest festival way too early last night at the West Forest."

**(*_*)**

_**Makarov**_

No one had seen him enter the guild hall, he was certain of that. He was even certain that there would be no one other than Mira-chan who would be here in the guild house this early on a Saturday morning.

Today was different from any other Saturday that he could remember. As far as he was concerned, Mira and only Mira would be alone when he entered the guild hall. It was strange to hear Mira's tired voice speaking to a low and naturally hushed baritone over breakfast and what picture she would like in her cup.

Makarov had instinctively crept through the door so as to not disturb the barmaid and her friend, giving her privacy and not wanting to be on the receiving end of her scolding when his eyes fell on a particular person sitting beside her at the bar eating croissants and drinking latte.

_That hood! Those white robes! The red accents! What are __**they**__ doing here?!__How could they have found me so quickly? I thought they only resided in Gallowstown! If it wasn't for that meeting, I would have never known that Mira was seeing __**them**__ behind my back, no doubt for information! No one hurts and uses my children and gets away scot free! I must protect Mira-chan! The Assassin must pay for his cunning and treachery!_

As he watched from the second floor within the shadows, Fairy Tail's guild master seethed with fury and utmost hatred for his mortal enemies, the brotherhood of the Assassin's Creed.


	8. The Calm before the Storm

_**[A/N: BONUS chapter! Companion to the Fighting Festival arc, from vol.103 onwards of the manga. I do not intend to use the anime elements for the Fighting Festival arc.]**_

_**Chapter Eight: The Calm before the Storm**_

_**Vergil**_

"Thank you Mira, I should be going off now," the Assassin thanked Fairy Tail's barmaid as he got up from the bar, having been served breakfast by her. He wiped his mouth with a serviette as he walked out of the guild doors and into the early morning sun.

"Ghost," he heard her voice calling him, "Wait!"

He stopped to see her exiting the confines of the bar and hurriedly making her way over to him, picking up the skirt of her maroon dress and reaching him with a jog as he patiently waited for her although not wanting to be seen by the rest of Fairy Tail and risking his identity.

"What is it?" he asked her. She bent down to catch her breath; he assumed that she ran as fast as she could to prevent him from taking off to his duties. "Take a breath," he laid a hand on her back before she stood up.

"Can you stay here for a while," she asked him, her breaths still in gasps, "until after lunch?"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"No," she spoke slowly before her breathing returned to normal. She returned to her full height and explained, "I'm going to sing a song later for the official opening of the guild house. It's a special occasion."

"Alrigh –" something cut him off, a particular buzzing sound that made Ghost jump.

The Assassin reached for his pack, searching in it before taking out the object that had cut him off. He held the vibrating crystal ball at chest height, seeing the name of the caller within. Mira watched him as held the ball in his hands before he picked up the call.

"Ghost!" an Assassin's face loomed into view within the crystal ball. "Something's happened! The West Forest is under attack again, this time by two dark guilds!"

"I thought the assault on Magnolia had been dealt with just last week?" Ghost questioned.

"It seems that they brought reinforcements, this time at the north-western mountain pass."

Ghost heard Mira gasp. He knew what was going through her mind; Fairy Tail was at the northernmost point of Magnolia but that was not the reason. The reason for her gasp was that her house was a few blocks away from the mountain pass as well as the location of Fairy Hills, near the edge of the foot of the western hills that were covered with dense forest.

"Where exactly are the dark guilds?" Ghost asked. Knowing that Mira would definitely ask the guild to intervene, he held her hand tightly, keeping her rooted to the spot as the members of Fairy Tail began to fill the compound one by one.

"On the other end of the canyon highway."

_**Levy**_

Levy walked in through the guild's gates and seeing Mira speaking with a white hooded man she did not know. With her book in her hands, she sat down on one of the benches of the outdoor café and began to read her novel, one eye trained on Mira and the suspicious man.

She could see that he was holding Mira-san by the hand and that she was visibly worried. In between the two of them was a communication lacrima ball, held by a devilish looking, metal prosthetic arm, covered in spikes. Both Mira and the man where looking at the communication lacrima.

All Levy could hear was "mountain pass" and 'dark guilds" and was not able to make head or tail of what was going on. She decided to talk to Mira-san about it later, before turning back to her book.

_**Mirajane**_

"We aren't sure when they will be attacking," the Assassin spoke to Ghost. "Which is why we need you now."

"How about the other Assassins?" Ghost pressed, needing more information.

"They already went on contract assignments issued out by HQ. I'm afraid that we are unable to call them back."

"What defenses do we have at the moment?" Ghost asked.

"I – I don't know how to explain the magical contraption thing," he hung his shoulders. "You should come and see for yourself, as well as the other Veterans who are on their way now."

"I will be there as soon as I can," Vergil said to him.

"I hope to see you soon," the communication lacrima relayed the verbal message, before putting out another one, "Good day to you Mirajane-san, safety and peace."

With that, Mira knew that Vergil would not be able to stay for her afternoon performance. She hung her head low, eyes on the floor in disappointment.

"Hey," Vergil squeezed her hand, "I know you wanted me to stay or help me out at the very least but I cannot risk your life. I have to go and settle this again." He spoke in an apologetic tone, "I will try to come back here when the time comes for you to perform as best I can."

"Again? What do you mean, again?" she questioned him softly, not wanting to be heard by Levy.

"The early partying in the West Forest you heard last week was the dark guilds. Mira, this is not the time for this," Ghost held her hand tightly to his chest; "this dark guild problem is in the hands of the Assassins, not the Fairies. Please, enjoy yourself during the Harvest Festival while we take care of the problem. It is time you had a proper rest."

"But –"

"No buts," Vergil pleaded, "Look, I insist that you just sit back and forget that you just heard all this, okay? I know that you want to help but bringing you into the affairs of the Assassins will only make your life worse, much worse than the guild war with Phantom Lord." His quiet voice spoke gently to her.

He let her hand go before turning around and running at a dead sprint to the north-western mountain pass.

_**Vergil**_

_Mira, I truly am sorry…_

He vaulted over a passing cart, not caring about the old man behind pushing it.

His mind was too focused on the frequent appearances of these dark guilds and wondered about the reason behind such attacks. It was only just last week that the attacks began and as far as he was concerned, there was no dark guild that he knew who had connections to anyone of influential power within Magnolia.

_This is confusing._

He climbed up a ladder that led to the rooftops and shot his grappling dart across a huge gap to cover more ground. Running straight in the distance of Fairy Hills, he jumped down to a lower roof, landing in a roll before running up the wall in front of him and climbing up to have the view of the mountain pass in front of him a short distance away.

_As far as I can remember, there seemed to be a guild mark of sorts but there was no affiliation to a higher power… This should be worth investigating._

He got down to the canyon road and saw that there were at least twenty Assassins, all huddled around some strange object in heated discussion. As he approached, he saw a small lacrima based alarm and one Assassin using a magic pendant to set it up through the use of magic seals. The other Assassins noticed as he got nearer and opened up a spot for him to stand and watch.

"What is this?" Ghost asked around.

"This," said the Assassin attending to the lacrima, "is a lacrima that induces a magical barrier of sorts that turns specific people away in the opposite direction."

"Enemies in particular," Ghost's thoughts questioned him.

"Correct."

"How long will it take to set this up?" another Assassin asked around.

"Five seconds," the Assassin replied.

"Whew."

"For everyone to be affected by it. At least three to four hours to set it such that only enemies cannot pass through."

"What?!" several Assassins, including Ghost, sparked their outrage.

"Can't be too careful with magical security like this," the Assassin opened up another magical seal and a screwdriver popped out. "It takes time to program its parameters."

"Can we get it to work any faster?" Ghost asked.

"Not that I can think of. I'm already working as fast as I can."

"We're not here to watch you set this up, are we?" the Assassin next to Ghost questioned.

"No."

"We're here to protect him while he gets this thing up," a voice from the direction of the city spoke. The group turned around to see the gruff, tough and old bureau leader and immediately greeted him with a hand over the heart.

"Master Thorn."

"Right." Master Thorn looked around the group before speaking, "earlier today we found a few of the dark guilds' scouts running about in the city. Although they put up quite the fight, we managed to apprehend them before the local police and the Rune Knights could get to them.

"From what we found out, they were keeping tabs on out unguarded areas and assessing the level of security of Magnolia town. As of now, two dark guilds have camped on the other end of the canyon highway and are expected to come marching down as soon as their scouts come back. What I want you to do is take defensive positions and make sure that the north-western pass is clear of any scum that you see. I would have you lot go on the offensive like that one smart fella last week; smart son of a bitch took out the guild aces and thinned their numbers so it seems. But since we are heavily outnumbered, I have no choice but to put you guys on the defensive."

"Will you be fighting alongside us, sir?"

"Nah," Thorn replied. "I've still got more of these magical barriers to set up across at the other end of the town."

"Alone?" Ghost asked.

"I'm not that stupid, boy," Thorn huffed. Ghost apologised immediately.

"Since you asked me that question, I'm putting you in charge of defense of the canyon pass," Thorn had chosen the leader of the operation without batting another eyelid.

"Alright, I'll be heading off. Safety and peace boys."

"Likewise, Master," the Assassins greeted him goodbye.

As they watched the bureau leader walk off, there came a shout from the other side of the group.

"Dark mages!"

"Orders?!" the Assassins rounded on Ghost.

"Engage first! We'll take defensive positions later! Four of you stay behind and protect the lacrima!" Ghost shouted out as the rest charged forward towards two teams of four dark mages each.

Knives soared down the canyon before the dark mages had time to react. Once that was done, Ghost began to take charge.

"Those with ranged weapons and a lot of ammunition take to the cliffs and shoot down! Weapons with shorter ranges to the front and longer ranges behind! Spread yourselves out over the canyon! Find suitable cover! The rest set your traps sparingly; we do not know whether there will be more enemies!"

"Aye!" the Assassins responded.

"Enemies! At the end of the canyon!"

"Positions! Now!" Ghost ordered, drawing his dagger and his hidden blade, pointing his dagger down the canyon as the ranged weapons fired.

The enemies kept coming wave after wave and Ghost soon noticed the pattern. Things were under control until he spotted riflemen on the other end of the canyon road.

"Riflemen!" one Assassin shouted.

"Take out the riflemen first! The rest of you set traps and engage when necessary!" Ghost instructed. He launched a few of his tripwire traps far down the road, the little spherical contraption landing on the ground just a few metres in front of the enemies before splitting open, several strings shooting out at odd angles and attaching themselves to any of the surfaces before tightening.

One tampered string could bring out a devastating punishment in the form of splinters and shrapnel exploding out of the mine at many angles.

With his sniper rifle, he lay prone on the ground and began taking out enemies with the help of the other Assassins while his tripwire mines took care of the stragglers.

As he took aim through his rifle's scope, a glint from an enemy weapon shone into his eye, temporarily blinding him.

_Damn! _

Ghost took his eye off the scope and looked up at the sky.

_Lunchtime now? It should be three hours past, give or take._

"How long more until that magical barrier is finished?!" Ghost asked the Assassin.

"Almost there! I need one more hour!"

Looking through the scope of his sniper rifle once more, Ghost aimed it at an enemy rifleman and fired. The silenced shot struck true and proceeded to take another enemy down, scoring him a two in one headshot.

"Follow my lead!" Ghost yelled out over the fire as he threw a splinter bomb down the road, before quickly being followed by a tripwire mine.

Several explosions rang out through the canyon, rocking the cliffs and dislodging a few boulders and crushing the enemy below them. Once more the Assassins readied their weapons, some reloading their firearms while others raised their swords and daggers and prepared for more enemies who were bound to blast the rock into smithereens with some spectacular magic.

They held their stances for the next ten minutes in silence in the canyon filled with bodies, their Eagle eyes trained in on their surroundings. Ghost with his Eagle Sense took a look behind the rock and saw several enemies with logs silently trying to leverage the boulder out of its place and roll down the road.

Then it happened.

Ghost stood transfixed at the image he was seeing in Eagle Sense. What he saw was the ghost of the boulder being moved toward him and the mages behind charging behind it while the real boulder was still being levered up by the dark mages on the other side.

Thinking quickly, the Ghost Assassin ran forward soundlessly and began setting up his tripwire mines at the foot of the boulder before quickly depositing his many thunder bombs and huddled them together just behind the tripwire mines. In between the tripwires and the other bombs, he strategically placed an incendiary bomb, knowing that what he saw earlier in Eagle Sense was about to happen any second now. The other Assassins continued to keep their weapons raised at the boulder as Ghost got up and made a mad dash for safety.

"Get away now!" he ordered, as the dark mages on the other side managed to push the boulder up and away from them. Ghost dived as the boulder met with the tripwire mines he placed, covering his hands over his head as the tripwires set the incendiary bomb aflame.

The incendiary bomb set off several explosions that were powerful enough to send the boulder back at the dark mages at a devastating speed, racing down the path and rolling over those who were unable to run quickly enough. It was enough to deal with the oncoming waves of enemies.

Turning back to the Assassin who was setting up the magical barrier, Ghost walked over to him.

"I'm almost done."

"That is what you told me seven minutes ago," Ghost replied to the Assassin. "With that boulder I sent down the road, I would say you have four hours at most until another dark guild comes out at another front."

"Like I said," the other Assassin replied, "I'm almost done here."

Ghost turned around to face the carnage that he had caused on the north-western mountain pass, seeing numerous bodies littered all over the road. He walked among the dead and found one dark mage lying against the cliff near the explosions' epicentre. To his surprise, he was barely alive and squatted down to talk to him.

"How many more of you are there?" the Assassin asked, his left hand backhanding the mage to a gasp.

Several Assassins gathered around while the rest attended to the barrier lacrima or continued to stand guard over the canyon road.

The dark mage let out another gasp as Ghost backhanded lightly to keep him awake.

"How many more of you are there?" Ghost asked again.

"*gasp* I – I—don't know!" he fully opened his eyes and watched the white devils in front of him before glancing at the surroundings to see many dead. He let out another gasp, followed by a cough, before answering that his whole guild had been accounted for among the dead, save the guild master.

Cheers ran through the Assassins who were listening but Ghost held him by the collar. "What about the other guild that came with you?"

"I don't know! P—please! Don't kill me!" the mage cried out in fear. He began to gasp for air, before coughing out in a terrible fit.

_He inhaled too much gunpowder. He does not have long left to live._

"Tell me why these dark guilds have been attacking Magnolia town," Ghost pressed the dark mage with his question, pushing him against the cliff in an effort to prolong his life by knocking out some of the gunpowder from his bombs.

"These attacks are all planned…" the mage slowly said before his head fell. Ghost shook him again that he woke up and finished with, "for one person only…"

With that, the dark mage passed on and Ghost said a short prayer and got up.

"Orders?"

"None. Some of you stay behind—"

"Done!" the Assassin setting up the magical barrier cried out. A magic seal appeared under the lacrima and lighted up the area, temporarily blinding their eyes before dying down.

"As I was saying," Ghost continued, "some of you stay behind and watch for any more dark mages; the rest are dismissed."

As the Assassins left, Ghost bent down near a random body and checked it for any affiliation or mark that indicated the identity of the dark guild. He found two guild marks: the first being a head with pointed ears and a block held up by three triangles underneath it, the second being a Teutonic cross standing on a plain of flame and holding two balls of flame as well.

_Twilight Ogre and Ghoul Spirit._

Ghost checked the time by looking up at the position of the sun before he realised something.

He was late.

He quickly ran back to Fairy Tail at top speed, pausing for a second at the gate because it was closed and there was music playing inside. He searched around before spotting an open window on the second floor and a path up to it.

Without a moment's hesitation, he climbed up the wall and through the window, stealing himself into Fairy Tail.

_**Mirajane**_

She started her song with a slow introduction, hoping that Vergil would make it on time. She did not see him at all when two phrases of her guitar plucking were over and she knew she had to begin her song.

"_With you gone, I brush the desk,_" she sang, her head bowed low, "_As the shadows fall, I'm alone again today."_

She looked up at the open windows on the second floor, opened on purpose to give the audience that she was an actual angel singing and giving them an emotional performance. She opened her eyes again and saw the Assassin Vergil on the second floor, leaning over the banister before searching his pack the same way he did this very morning.

"_Looking up to the sky, I pray_

"_Knowing you're under this same sky_

"_At times when you're shaking with tears_

"_And times when you seem to be engulfed in darkness."_

She smiled as she sung, the lyrics reminding her as well as Fairy Tail of the troubles that they had gone through together as a guild, the most recent being the guild war. She closed her eyes as her smile brightened as she sang with all her heart.

"_Don't forget_

"_You always have_

"_You always have a place to return to_

"_And people that are_

"_Waiting for you…"_

Mira continued to play the chords and pluck her guitar strings so that she could sing the song all over again.

"Mira-CHAAAAAN!"

"You're the best!"

"ALL RIIIIIIGHT!"

"OWWWWWW!"

*gihee*

She could not be bothered about Natsu right now, Vergil was still listening to her.

If only she had heard the trademark laugh of Gajeel, then she would have understood the next flurry of events.

"What the hell was that for?!" Natsu got up onto the table, yelling at Gajeel. "You did that on purpose!"

Mira stopped playing her music and watched as Gajeel gave the Salamander an innocent look.

Following Natsu's outburst, there were two thrown mugs that met the jaws of the dragon slayers while someone told them to shut up and stop interrupting her song.

Only that Mira saw Natsu flipping the table over in an outrage, demanding the identity of the person who threw the mug at him just as Erza calmly held on to her plate of strawberry cheesecake.

"Dammit Natsu! Stop screwing around!" Gray stood up in an effort to forcefully sit back down, accidentally knocking over Erza's cake to the ground in the process. He did not care however, and began fighting Natsu to the ground with Juvia cheering him on.

_Uh-oh… Erza's cake…this should be fun._

Mira smiled to herself as brawls started brewing around the guild hall, which was now quite a mess.

"Dammit you guys!" she heard Elfman roar above the din, punching Joey Fullborn and stepping on the ruined cake. "Shut up and listen to Nee-chan's song!

"Shut the f**k up!" Mira saw Erza sending her brother flying with a kick to the jaw.

The songstress smiled at the scene that was before her. As much as she had like to think that they were fighting for her attention, she knew that the guild had already returned to its formal and rather rowdy self. She looked up at the second floor again and saw that Ghost was gone.

_Did he know that the brawl was going to happen? I'll ask him la—_

"Somebody hold Natsu down!"

"…" Mira heard Master growling.

"I guess this is no time for a ballad, huh?" she tried to lighten the mood.

"LET'S ROCK THE HOUSE, THEN!" she shouted out loud with her usual cheery voice and transformed her leopard print dress into something more revealing, baring her midriff over a short skirt and fishnet stockings. She began to play faster and livelier music with the drums magically playing itself in time with her guitar strumming, now more energetic.

A small crowd gathered at the front of the stage and Vijeeter leapt onto it and started dancing while a huge mosh pit was at the back of the guild hall. In an instant, she saw Joey flying straight for the guild doors and bursting them open to reveal a man in a white robe walking off in the far distance towards Kardia Cathedral on Marcanoli Centre Boulevard, before disappearing as a speck in her vision.

"Cut it out, you lowlifes! Clean this place up!" Makarov was heard above the din half wailing, half fuming mad-so-bad-that-he-was-going-to-****-and-*******-a nd-**************.

_Haha! This is Fairy Tail! _Mira thought with a hand over her mouth in a giggle.

_~A few hours of cleaning up and arduous repairs later… ~_

Mira was now on the second floor where Vergil stood to see what he had seen earlier.

_Aww… He had the nicest view of the performance! Hmm, he was leaning over here like thi—_

Something caught her eyes as it fell down to the ground from the banister, not knowing that there was something there earlier. As it fell, she saw another pair of eyes locking on to the strange object before they began to move toward the spot where it had landed amongst the remaining debris. Lucy slowly made her way across the many mages who were still tidying up after themselves when a blue blur rushed past her on feathered wings.

Happy swooped down onto the object and picked it up with his paws and Mira opened her mouth to stop him when Lucy beat her to it, catching the cat in mid-flight and sending them into the direction of Levy, who was sitting down in an unharmed chair from the brawl earlier reading a book.

"Lu-chan!" Levy yelled at the celestial spirit mage as the book was sent flying out of her hands into that of Gajeel Redfox's. "My book! Get it back for me at once!"

"Sorry, Levy-chan!" Lucy apologised, dropping Happy unknowingly in her haste to recover the lost book when Natsu rushed to the scene to protect his partner.

Instinctively, Jet and Droy stood behind Levy, ready to defend her from Natsu's accusations at her. Mirajane watched as harsh words were exchanged before hints of challenge sprung up.

_Not another brawl… Natsu, don't you ever grow tired of fighting?_

Mira sighed at the predictability of the Salamander before seeing a blue ball of fur silently sneaking his way out of the dust cloud still with the strange object in his hands. Happy was without a doubt heading outside and Mira followed him.

It seemed that Happy had taken notice because as soon as she heard her heels clicking against the cobblestone road, he sprouted his wings and tore off down the street.

"Happy! Wait!" she called after him only for her voice to fall on road and cobblestone.

Her eyes followed him closely and saw him nearing a familiar blond mage sitting on a bench.

_Laxus… Happy's going to get himself shocked. Bad._

She quickly ran, picking up the skirts of her usual maroon dress but it was too late. She saw a bolt of lightning shooting straight for the blue cat and immobilising him. Mira saw Laxus bending down to see what had made Happy speed off past him and found it.

"Laxus!" Mira shouted for him to stop. "Give that to me please," she asked him when she got near enough.

"Why should I?" he replied, his voice laced with hints of poison. He held up the object with his index finger and thumb so that see the object better.

Mira recognised that object at once.

_Vergil's finger!_

"Why should I? How about you ask yourself why you're so concerned about the image of Fairy Tail, Laxus! I've seen you giving the guild stares as if they have no right to be a part of our family!" Mira berated him. "What in the world is wrong with a blue cat flying down a street at top speed? Tell me Laxus!" Mira gave him one of her deadly stares, reminiscent of her "Demon" days. She then gestured a hand to the poor cat, who lay spread eagle on the ground, moaning and dizzy with swirls for eyes.

"Fine," the lightning mage relented, tossing her Vergil's finger as he walked off.

As soon as he was out of sight, Mirajane bent down to make sure that Happy was okay.

"Happy! Are you alright?"

"Ugh…." Happy could only moan in response. Mira picked him up and carried him like an infant at his mother's breast. She nestled the cat in her arms before asking him where he was going off to in such a hurry.

"Ghost-san's finger," Happy weakly pointed at the metal finger. "I was going to return it to him," he reached out to grab hold of it.

Mira quickly grabbed the other end of the finger but her fingertips met a piece of parchment as the cat pulled it free from her clutch.

"A piece of paper?" Mira spoke to herself out loud, before turning to Happy. "Did you know about this?"

"No, Mira-san," Happy groaned weakly.

Carrying Happy over to a bench and setting him down before seating herself on it, the barmaid unfolded the piece of paper that had been in Ghost's finger all this while, almost having had to scream and fight her way to get it.

As she unfolded the paper, a hand immediately went up to cover her mouth as she read the contents of the note.

_Knowing you're under this same sky_

_At times when you're shaking with tears_

_And times when you seem to be engulfed in darkness._

Tears began to form at her eyes as she realised the meaning of Vergil's finger, now safely held in the hands of the adorable blue cat.

"Mira-san," Happy slowly spoke, getting up and laying a paw on the hand that held the note. "I won't tell anyone about you and Ghost-san. I promise."

"It's very complicated, Happy," she replied as she silently broke down, touched at the Assassin's gesture. "Thank you so much."

"Do I get something?"

"Yes," she gave a small and gentle laugh, "an extra tasty fish, just the way you like it."

_**Vergil**_

"Banaboster," Ghost growled, towering over the guild master of Twilight Ogre.

Vergil's quarry lay against the wall of a rundown house just on the outskirts of Magnolia town. Still fully wide awake and immobilised with fear, the man squinted his eyes as the sun's rays cast a shadow over his pursuer's features, making his appearance that of a faceless demon.

In an instant, the Assassin stepped onto Banaboster's leg, breaking the kneecap, trapping him and preventing any attempt to escape.

"What do you want from me?" the Ogre asked fearfully.

"You and your friends will never lay a hand on Magnolia ever again, do you hear me?" Ghost threatened.

"Y—Yes! Yes sir!"

"What will happen to you if I ever hear of this again?" the Assassin whispered dangerously, flexing his devil arm for greater effect.

"Will you kill me?" Banaboster whimpered. He made to clutch his leg in pain, before being kicked in the head for a foolish attempt to tend to his wounds.

"I will not just kill you," Ghost spoke. The sun had begun setting and the red sky created an image of a living hell in Banaboster's eyes. "I will hunt you down. I will hunt your entire guild down. I will hunt your friends and their guilds down for the attacks that you have brought upon the innocents of Magnolia. I will make you fear me and me alone; I will toy with your fears and torture you endless hour after endless hour.

"And when I am done with you, I will hang you by your entrails **alive** for the world to see that it is not wise to mess with the home of my order."

Twilight Ogre's master let out a pained whimper, followed by a fearful one and wished that he had never agreed to assault Magnolia in the first place.

"Have I made myself clear?"

"Y—Yo—You don't scare me!" the poor man tried in a last ditch effort to put up a strong front.

As if by response, the devil arm suddenly sprouted spikes all over and a lethal looking blade drew itself from within the forearm afterward.

Simply put, Banaboster wet his pants.

"I am not done with you yet," Ghost breathed.

Ghost saw Banaboster close his eyes in expectation of whatever terrible thing that was to come.

"You are going to deliver a message for me."

_**Happy**_

"Mira-san, FISH!"

"Haha, yes Happy, your fish is coming!" Mira gave an extra cheerful smile. Natsu was next to the cat and Lucy sat next to Natsu at the table where they usually sat.

Dinner was upon the guild, most of the member's heading out to dinner while some of the poorer mages (*ahem-Lucy*) had to contend with Mirajane's food, which turned out to be not such a bad thing at all. Mira was not the best cook, but she knew the certain tastes of certain people and everyone always asked her for fourths, to which she objected, giving the excuse that there would be not enough food if everyone had thirds, especially Natsu.

But for Happy, he was always fixated at the thought of fish.

Thanking Mira eagerly for the marinated smoked salmon with grilled roe, the cat began eating it hungrily. Lucy on the other hand, gawked at Happy's dish, wondering what the special occasion was that made Mira-san especially kind to the cat, who would normally get a fresh raw fish to eat.

"Mira-san?" Happy heard Lucy asking the barmaid about his dinner before she could walk away. "How come Happy gets gourmet food today?"

"He was a very nice cat today," Mira smiled innocently.

"Nice? This cat is nice?!"

"Oi, Lucy," Natsu gobbled up his fire plate, "just sit down and eat your salad."

"Maybe Lucy was naughty today and she's not getting any fish," Happy chirped.

"That's not the point!"

Mira giggled at the scene that lay before her eyes before tearing herself away and headed back to the counter, where Happy knew the note was hidden there.

_**Vergil**_

"That should be the last lacrima for today," an Assassin spoke to Ghost as the two ate their rice balls on the way back into Magnolia town.

"There are still more to set up?" Ghost inquired. The two of them had been assigned another lacrima to set up along the railway lines outside of Magnolia.

"Yeah," the other man replied, "but we are more or less done today after that spectacular defense at the north-western mountain pass. There should be several Assassins returning here tomorrow; they will be most likely the next ones to set up and take care of the security measures we have set in place."

"That is if they can find where we hid ours," Ghost let out a small chuckle.

"Haha. Yes, if they can find it."

The two walked on and they parted ways at a cross junction, bidding each other goodbye before heading their separate directions.

Vergil was on his way to Fairy Tail while he bought another rice ball to munch on and gather his thoughts.

_So, the recent attacks are just to cover one person's entry and exit. But who is the cause of all this? And why create such a huge distraction that only overshadows this particular person?_

It was a few moments later that he arrived at Fairy Tail, using his Eagle Sense to see if master Makarov was still within the building before walking through the guild's oak doors to see Mirajane, sitting down at the bar and waiting expectantly for him with a glass of juice in her hand.

"Ghost! There you are!" she cried out, getting up from her chair. She walked over to him and gave him back his finger.

"So you found it?" he asked her.

"Yes I did, Vergil. Yes I did," she replied.

_So we are alone…_

"Hold on to it first," he spoke when Mira opened her mouth to speak.

"Well Vergil, since it's the official opening of Fairy Tail, would you like me to show you around?"

"Why not start here?" he smiled, although unseen by the barmaid. "What place is this?"

_~Half an hour later…~_

The two were back at the bar, Mira watching Ghost as he drew a map of the guild in his codex as accurately as he could. She was vividly astounded that he had managed to remember every little detail, including the huge fish on the kitchen table in the kitchen and the data room's ladder, Reedus not getting the proportions right the first time.

"That's an accurate sketch," said an awed Mira. "But I don't understand something," she scratched her chin in puzzlement.

"What is it?" he asked her curiously.

"What are all these black dots with a line connecting them?"

"Ah," he gestured to the little surveillance lacrima in the far corner of the bar. "Security measures."

"You don't plan to…" Mira asked nervously, "do you?"

"No worries," Vergil gave a small laugh. "Not if I have to, maybe mess around with the S-class board for fun," he joked.

"Haha," she laughed with him. "It's still a bad joke!"

"It always is."

The two of them ended with a sigh and took a breath before Mirajane edged her seat closer to his.

_**Mirajane**_

"What did you think of it today?" Mira asked him softly, a shy smile on her face.

"It?" Vergil did not understand. "I have been through many things today. "

"What do think about my song?"

"Your song?" Vergil confirmed before looking away from her eyes to gather his thoughts. "Is it not a song for the road?"

"You could tell by what you heard?" she raised a sceptical eyebrow, holding up the little note with his handwriting on it and the three lines of lyrics that he had written.

"I suppose so," he shrugged. "I heard the last of it as I left the guild but I cannot seem to remember it now."

The both of them turned away rather shyly before Mira spoke.

"How about I sing to you now?"

"Now? Where?" Vergil asked her in response. She looked into his facemask as he turned his head to look back at her.

"Maybe… the bell tower?"

"Kardia Cathedral's bell tower?" Ghost reeled back a little, strangely astounded by her words.

"No no no," she waved her hands at him frantically, not wanting to go to such extremes. "I meant the Fairy Tail bell tower just upstairs. The acoustics up there are better."

"Really?" he heaved a sigh after that.

_Is he hiding something from me again? Particularly the place where he stays? At this rate I will eventually force out all his secrets so bad that he will have to marry me in the future just to keep them secret!_

The both of them made their way to the staircase and headed up, Mirajane leading the way and eventually opening the trapdoor that led to the bell tower, giving a great view of Magnolia town from the north to the south.

"What a beautiful town," she gasped at the specks of lights coming from the windows that dotted the black canvas of the numerous town buildings, awed by such a different sight than what she would normally see from the second floor balcony at daytime.

"What better way to share this beautiful view with a beautiful girl such as yourself?" Vergil quipped, standing next to her with his arms folded to prevent the now empty pouches from swaying too rigorously in the night winds.

"Are you hitting on me?" she asked him with a pinch of uncertainty in her voice.

"What do you think?" he cheekily replied.

"Tell me!" Mira playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"How about that song?!" Vergil raised his hands defensively.

"Not yet," Mira slapped him again, slightly raising her voice in annoyance. "Hold still, Vergil. Stop moving!" she began to laugh out loud in earnest as Ghost stopped his antic, lowering his arms so that she could reach his face.

"You need to hear it properly, Vergil," she drew her face nearer to his as she removed his mask and gently pulled down his hood. He did not resist her and she was thankful for that.

They sat at the ledge of the bell tower, Vergil's legs dangling over while Mira opted for a half-sit and leaned on the Assassin for fear of sitting too near the edge and falling over, her arm wrapping itself around his right bicep.

She took a breath and began to sing softly, unlike the earlier rendition where she had to project her voice.

"_With you gone, I brush the desk_

_As the shadows fall, I'm alone again today_

_Looking up to the sky, I pray_

_Knowing you're under this same sky_

_At times when you're shaking with tears_

_And times when you seem to be engulfed in darkness_

_Don't forget_

_You always have_

_You always have a place to return to_

_And people that are_

_Waiting for you"_

Vergil stayed quiet and Mira glanced at his face, seeing mixed expressions and finding the Assassin virtually unable to describe what he felt.

"I—I do not know what to say," he began slowly.

"Take your time," she gave his arm a gentle squeeze in encouragement.

"I—I—I needed to hear that," Vergil said simply. "I cannot thank you enough, really."

She gazed up at the stars, her first inspiration for the lyrics of the song and exhaled.

"You know something?" she asked him.

"Hmm?"

"I wrote this song with you in mind," she told him, "you're always on dangerous assignments and I only get to see you so little times a week, sometimes never. I always find myself concerned for your safety as you are for mine and I wanted to tell you that you're not always alone. Even if I'm not there for you to confide in, there will always be another person or friend that can share your troubles with you." As she spoke those words to him, she held out his finger for him to take back, seeing a tear stream down his face.

"I will not need it again," he shakily refused the finger, using his clawed hand to slowly push it back to her. "It will help me to remind myself of this beautiful song written by a beautiful girl for a nobody such as myself."

"You are somebody."

"That not everyone knows," he responded.

"But why am I keeping it?" Mira asked him, clearly puzzled. This odd behaviour was puzzling to her, having never seen Vergil act like this. Vergil chose to stay quiet and continued looking out toward Magnolia, watching as light after light went out as their owners retired for the day.

She yawned before letting her head rest on his shoulder. He got up and moved himself to a pillar and sat himself down as Mira joined him, resting her head on his shoulder and pulling herself into a half hug, wrapping her arms around his torso and feeling the numerous deep scars that decorated his lean and strong body through his Assassin robes.

As she closed her eyes, Mirajane Strauss felt a clawed hand hold her close for warmth and for the first time in her life, she could not feel anything poking her or causing her discomfort in the slightest.


	9. Battle of Strange Lunacy

_**[A/N: yo dudes! It's that time of the month again... Not sure if you guys have noticed but I have been using the manga for all the Mira POVs... kudos to you who noticed! the dialogue should be the same as that of the manga but... you can find that out for yourself. :D As always, I do not own Fairy Tail nor do I own Assassin's Creed. Enjoy.]**_

* * *

_**Nine: Battle of Strange Lunacy**_

_**Vergil**_

_~ Perspective Future ~_

_Only few Assassins are known to wield such a powerful understanding and capability of Eagle Vision. Like the Eagle Eye's perspectives of the present and the past in which targets, enemies and allies leave a trail or scent behind, Perspective Future also has a similar visual whereby images of the targets, enemies or allies are either ahead or past the present time that the event is occurring in, in this case ahead of present time._

_Perspective Future allows the wielder to see certain events a few moments before it actually happens. Certain Assassins have been known to use this ability of theirs to stop assaults on cities or to strike when an enemy least expects it. This has been proven useful by the few Assassins that have been known to utilise it and as most often as the case, has been abused by others who do not have this highly sought after aspect of the Eagle Sense. Prolonged usage of the ability may lengthen the time that it can be used to see ahead into the future._

_Like with any benefit, Perspective Future has its disadvantages. The future that is shown to the wielder is based on the current response of the target that it is used upon. Although accurate at times, Perspective Future has been known to be prone to absurd inaccuracies due to the ability being blocked or nullified by the target. It has also been known to change "futures" at a random moment, the target having suddenly changed his/her response based on the actions of the wielder._

_Only a handful of accomplished users of the Eagle Sense's Perspective Future are able to respond to several targets, enemies or allies at any given time. A few of these Assassins are Colton Teivel of Rose Garden and Mavis Vermillion, first master and founder of Fairy Tail._

The sounds of war invaded his hideout and Vergil immediately got his robes and weapons on before peeking his head out of the nearest window to see what the calamity was all about.

He peeked out to see numerous magic seals dotting the sky and many others peppering the streets below. With his left arm, his bombs and his three kunai strapped to his right thigh, he climbed up onto the beam through the window facing north and synchronised with the city of Magnolia. He prepared to leap after that, before forgetting something by wondering how come his face had seemed so free of the mask that it always had on whenever he got out to explore or train. Leaping back inside his hideout, he quickly found his mask and picked it up before seeing a nearby necklace consisting of a black leather thread and six cubes written in Edolean tongue.

He wore his mask before picking it up, reading his name and putting it on as well. With that, he climbed back out of the northern window and synchronised once more.

_Strange… I do not see nor feel any of the faeries. The missing faeries Cana, Juvia, Erza, Bisca, Lucy, Levi and Mira are nowhere to be found in the streets of Magnolia. And what is with all the fairies fighting each other like wild feral dogs?_

He leapt off the jutting beam, falling at least twenty-eight storeys down into the makeshift roof garden nearest to Marcanoli Centre Boulevard. He emerged out and began leisurely traversing the rooftops to Fairy Tail. He knew he was in for some kind of trouble along the way but met no resistance whatsoever whereas several mages had found themselves caught in rune traps with absurd rules and conditions. With codex in hand, he slowly took valuable notes about the fighting styles of several individuals and almost got himself caught in a trap, able to avoid it due to the use of Eagle Sense. He watched as the fairies turned on each other like feral dogs to save the Miss Fairy Tails and to defeat a woman named Evergreen so that the seven girls could be turned back to normal.

_Evergreen of Laxus's personal guard, also known as the Raijinshu? What does she have to do with this idiosyncrasy that has plagued the early afternoon of Magnolia?_

"Hey! Mister!" a young child called out to the Assassin from a nearby window. The wee young lad had gained his attention immediately and hurried over to see what the commotion was about.

"Mister! It's not safe up here!" the little boy, no older than seven, cried out.

"What has happened?" Ghost asked.

"So many Fairy Tail mages are fighting everywhere! Do you know why?" the lad's eyes opened wide in curiosity.

"I am afraid not," Ghost replied. He paused to think for a viable reason to give the boy, before saying, "I think they are preparing or practising for the Fantasia parade later tonight."

"Really?" the lad gasped in surprise. "Fairy Tail normally doesn't practice out here in the streets! Maybe I'll be able to stay up late and watch them this time!"

"I am sure you will," the Assassin bowed his head with a small laugh. "I have to go now but thank you for informing me about the practice sessions um—"

"Romeo!" the boy replied with a wide grin capable of putting the Cheshire cat in shame. "Romeo Conbolt!"

"Ghost, pleased to meet you, Romeo."

"Okay, bye bye! Mama says I have to go," he heard his mother's call and gave the Assassin a sort of pleading look, one that wanted the conversation to be slightly longer than usually expected.

"Then you should go," Ghost waved a hand as he turned to leave, facing Fairy Tail. "You should not keep her waiting."

"Ok. Bye!"

With that, Ghost leapt down onto the street, landing in a three point crouch and immediately avoided a whizzing bullet past his hood.

"Damn you Alzack!"

Another bullet whizzed past the Assassin's head. The next flurry of bullets where dodged by the Assassin who dived onto the floor, covering his head with his left palm. He crawled in the prone position all the way to the nearest alley before picking himself up and dusting off his robes, before finding a safer route to Fairy Tail. There was no doubt that if he was not alert or careful in the slightest, he would be critically injured or killed and no one would be able to save him.

He reached the Fairy Tail guild house after a few harrowing minutes of darting in between skirmishes across the city and heaved a sigh of relief. He had to admit it to himself that the girl known as "Onihime"(Demon Princess), leader of team Megadeath, whose name was Miki Chickentiger, had almost batted his head off with her fists, if the wall he had been hiding behind had not been there.

Stepping through the gates into Fairy Tail, he saw several windows on the second floor that were open and he took caution not to make extra noise for fear of being detected by two dragon slayers that he had spotted on his way in. he climbed up and stole inside before looking down to the stage to see seven life-like statues of the seven girls that the Assassin had picked up hints about earlier on his way here.

Sneaking across half the guild hall, he stopped to check his back for any warning of detection to look at a counter displayed in runes just through the guild doors,, displaying a counter and a report of some kind stating who was battling who and the current statuses of the combatants involved.

_Only two combatants remaining after 45 minutes of game time. Is this some sort of sick joke?_

Turning back to face the stage, he saw the seven girls that the guild was hell bent on restoring before Evergreen, he assumed, would do something worse to them. Of the seven, he recognised Mira and Cana the most, followed by Erza; the rest he had never personally encountered before. Only Mira seemed to have realised that she was about to become a hostage, raising her hands in surprise and instinct to defend herself to no avail.

* * *

_**Mirajane**_

She was not sure how she could still be alive and conscious after what Evergreen had done to her. This was a whole new level of hostage negotiation that she had never experienced before, mainly because the kidnappers were out playing a game while the hostages were turned to stone, somehow alive but unable to move in the slightest.

Mira could only look straight as punishment from Evergreen for being prettier than her and now all the barmaid could see was the guild's main exit, with Master, Natsu and Gajeel pulling their hair out and trying to escape so that they could find Laxus. With only one thing to look at, she sighed in her mind, her body unable to do anything but was quickly piqued by something white slowly and stealthily moving across the second floor, disappearing as quickly as she noticed it.

_Vergil?_

Before she could do anything (not that she could to begin with), Natsu had come up with a great idea to free Erza from her stone prison.

"Ahh, there's nothing for it," Natsu announced, "I'll have to go revive Erza!"

"WHAT?!" Gajeel, Makarov and Happy's jaws dropped at Natsu's logic. Mira would have let her jaw drop as well, if wasn't stone for one.

The fire dragon slayer muttered to himself before being interrupted by Master.

"W…Wait a moment!" he sputtered out. "H…How do you mean to…?!"

"If I burn it, it'll come off, right? The stone or whatever." Natsu gave Master an incredulous look, as if it was the easiest thing in the world, besides eating.

Master shrieked. Literally. Even Mira had no words that could describe Natsu's denseness, if not cute at times.

"Well, I won't know until I try!"

"Oh yes we do! Stop! Are you trying to kill her?!"

The sound of flames ensued not long after.

"Natsu! Get that fire off her right now!"

"You know," Gajeel timidly whispered, "You're being pretty damn pervy there…"

*CRACK*

Everyone gasped in fear.

"Oh crap! I cracked her! Glue! We need glue! Happy, get glue!" Natsu flailed his arms frantically trying to repair Erza for fear of his life if the Knight were to ever find out that she was being roasted alive.

"AYE SIR!"

"You idiot! You think that'll do it?" Gajeel also joined in to help repair Erza. "Obviously you have to melt my iron down with your fire and we'll weld it!"

"ALL OF YOU!" Mira saw Master's jaw sink even lower than it had originally.

When the crack did nothing but lengthen, Natsu was kneeling in repentance and blabbering his mouth with apologies, repeating himself over and over again. The crack did nothing to ease his pain and soon, the statue of Erza cracked open to reveal none other than Erza.

The four males were surprised that Erza had not been fully affected by Evergreen's Stone Eyes but she looked like she did not care.

"I feel hot…" she rasped dangerously, "Was that **you**, Natsu…?"

"…"

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU PLAYING AT?!" Erza sent not only Natsu, but Gajeel flying as well.

"Erza's back!" Happy cried.

"Erza…" Master seemed to be at a loss for words, which was beginning to become very frequent. "But how…?"

"That, I don't know myself…" Erza thought for a while. "Perhaps it has something to do with my right eye…"

Mira had known about Erza's artificial eye but never expected it to be of much use until this situation.

_Hmm? What's that?_

Mira could hear a faint sound like fabric against silk rope getting closer and closer as the group focused their attention on the counter, watching it go up from three to four. Slowly, the noise kept getting closer and she wanted to scream out loud to get away or scare the perpetrator before feeling a gloved hand caress her cheek from behind.

_Wait… Vergil?_

The gloved hand retracted and reappeared at the edges of her visual periphery, this time holding a small note and tucking it behind her exposed ear, firmly lodged between the ear and a few strands of loose hair before caressing her cheek more tenderly and silently slipping out of the guild unnoticed afterward.

* * *

_**Erza**_

As she ran out of the guild and into the streets of Magnolia, she saw an undeniably familiar white hood walking briskly down the west lane.

_Isn't that…the fella who beat me down without magic that time? When there was still that horn in the middle of the guild hall? Isn't he the one that took Mira and returned her after a day and a half without even telling anyone about claiming that stupid and ridiculous wager of his? I can't believe it! That guy still has the nerve to come near here after he tarnished my near perfect reputation in combat! I want to pay him back so dearly but what can I use against him? He's got the skills and the smarts of combat even more fluid than Laxus ever had but I don't recall him being able to use magic since he called for a no magic spar._

Erza thought of giving him chase but he disappeared around a building's corner and she quickly decided on following him, taking care not to be detected.

She neared the edge and peered over to see the strange man slowly walking this time, before stopping dead in his tracks. The Knight quickly hid behind the corner before peeking out again cautiously to see that he had turned his head to one side, as if looking around the edges of his field of vision.

_Did he find me out? He shouldn't be able to see me from here, the hood is already covering the side of his face! And that mask? I should be relatively hidden behind this wall._

She readied a sword as the man continued on his way, before turning into an alley that she knew would lead to a dead end, having chased both Natsu and Gray into it before and beating them senseless for fighting each other. Erza quickly darted to the alley's entrance, poised and ready to barge in a strike. She took a deep breath, raised her sword, and charged in, swiping the first human-like thing that she saw.

The smell of rotten cabbages immediately assaulted her nose and she reeled back, her guard raised to see that there were only a few garbage bags of the stuff that had been cleverly arranged to look at least like the silhouette of a young man.

_That's strange, where could he have gone? There is no way that he could have escaped by climbing up the smooth walls with his bare hands, could he? White hooded mystery man, you will not escape me!_

She knew that he had not entirely disappeared. She emerged out of the alley to see the same white hood just a few metres away, heading in the direction of Fairy Hills. Erza immediately began her sneaking about and followed him, darting from building to building for cover. Not knowing why he was heading in that direction, she continued to give him chase discreetly.

It was not long before she found herself past Fairy Hills and at the beginning of the north-western mountain pass. In the middle of the canyon road, she saw the man squatting down to inspect something before fiddling it. After a few minutes he rose up to which Erza requipped a sword and aimed it at him as he turned around.

"You! What were you doing at the guild?"

No response.

"I will not ask again," she warned him.

As if by defiant response, she saw a blade emerge from his left forearm before he gripped it like dagger; the same arm that had defeated her since the Eisenwald incident. She requipped another sword into her free hand, causing the man to draw the dagger sheathed on his chest.

Both adopted their fighting stances, one tensed up and the other relaxed and dared each other to strike first. They charged at each other at the same time, swiping as they darted past each other.

Erza stopped short as the man turned around for another strike, taking the initiative and leaping at her for greater force to account for the length of his weapons.

She blocked it in an instant, engaging both combatants in a sword lock only to realise that her opponent had planned well ahead, seeing that his feet had not touched the ground yet and was still moving towards her, his head primed for a very painful head butt which met its mark.

"Agh!" she grunted, stumbling backwards and clutching her head, not wary of the impending danger of leaving herself open to attack.

A clawed hand brought itself down onto her. She saw at the last minute and attempted a guard, which was broken like a toothpick. A second strike from the man's dagger came down to bear and she barely blocked it, her guard broken again and sent stumbling backwards. As he dealt an upswing, the Knight exquipped her default armour set into the Flight armour, granting her increased speed, and flipped backwards out of harm's way.

She bounded forward and swiped across the chest, only to have the attack miss completely as the man ducked under the blade and slashed across her abdomen, to which she quickly blocked with her other sword in astonishment.

_How is he still faster than me? I don't understand this one bit. _

The dagger brought down to bear again and this time, with both her swords, she blocked the powerful strike and was pushed backwards a considerable distance, judging that she could sense no magic coming from the opponent.

_Such power! I know! Disarm him!_

With her new plan in mind, she bounded once more, this time with the Black Wing armour and swooped down on him. He rolled out of the way, sheathing his dagger and jumped, dodging the low strike the Knight immediately dealt. Her next flurry of attacks were successful in maintaining him from drawing his dagger again and she swung down on the man's left arm, hoping to break the devilish monstrosity that was raised in defence and head back into Magnolia to finish business with Laxus as quickly as possible.

To her surprise, the blade broke, not the arm.

It all happened in slow motion to her at this point onwards.

As the sword broke, the shards fell down harmlessly onto the ground while the largest piece only scratched the side of the spiked shoulder. In the moment of contact, the man reached out for her other blade arm and disarmed her instead in one quick and fluid motion.

She closed her eyes as he raised her weapon against her and heard the unmistakable swipe.

_Am I dead? Have I truly lost?_

She peeked through her eyelids to see her sword firmly stuck in the ground and no sign of the white hooded man anywhere.

_This must mean that I'm still alive, but why? Out of mercy or pity? Not a chance. No one pities me and lives._

She got up proceeded to pick up her sword and when she did, she felt a tuft of hair fall from her fringe as she touched the hilt, taking her completely by surprise.

Needless to say, that man was clearly way out of her league, in her own words at the very least.

She decided that it was time to move on and find Laxus, hopefully able and strong enough to deal with him and restore order to Magnolia.

* * *

_**[A/N: okay I know… kinda short chapter for this one, terribly sorry about that. Hopefully this little drabble can help make it up to you guys!]**_

* * *

_**The Train Ride **_

"Write your dates, Vergil, so that every time you come back and read this you'll remember what happened exactly that day."

"Yes Father. Mama, what is the date today?" little Vergil asked across the train seat from which he sat, the codex in his small hands and opened to a fresh page. The young boy set the book down on the nearby table near the window and looked at his mother, nearing her fortieth year in a few days' time.

"Vergil, honey," her sweet voice cooed gently as she patted her tummy, full from the recent lunch. "You are twelve years old; you should know the date already."

"But I don't, Mama. Can you please tell me?"

"Okay little baby," she stood up and proceeded to sit down next to Vergil, who with keen and bright eyes was barely able to hold his anticipation to just learn everything that he possibly could at a young age.

"I'm not a baby anymore!" he stuck his tongue at her.

"Haha," his father chuckled heartily at the comment. "Be kind to your Mama, Vergil."

"Hmm," she held a finger to her chin. "Today is the seventh of July if I'm not wrong," she spoke slowly.

Vergil happily wrote down the date, writing it at the top corner of the page like this:

_Seventh of July, Year X777_

"Good job Ver—" Vergil's father stopped short, as if interrupted by something malevolent.

"Something wrong dear?"

"I fear this train ride has been attacked by bandits"

"When?"

"Now."

BOOM.

Vergil jumped up in his seat, his first reaction being to flick his left wrist and clutch the codex close to his body with his right hand, his well fitted blue hoodie crumpling itself with his stance.

"Mama! What's that sound?"

"Danger," his father replied for her. "Vergil my boy, I need you to do me a favour okay?"

"Okay!" the wee boy shakily spoke, trying to hide his fear.

"I need you to protect your mother and bring her to the panic room at the back of the train," said his father. "Can you do that for me?"

"S-s-sure!" Vergil stammered. "I-I'm not afraid!"

"That's my boy," his father smiled, ruffling his son's spiky long hair. He stood up straight and pulled his hood over his face as shouting could be heard a few train carriages down near the front of the train. Without another word, he left through the door and left both mother and son in the company of panicking commuters, rushing to find the nearest exit.

The journey to the panic room was rather uneventful after the train conductor got all the passengers to calmly get in and rest a while from the terror that was elsewhere.

Vergil opened his codex to write in when he thought he heard a faint call for Mama. It sounded like a girl's voice, accompanied by two more belonging to another girl and a boy.

It was at this time that a couple came in at the last minute as the panic room doors clamped shut. Although the people in the carriage looked at them as if they were the last ones, Vergil saw panicked and worried looks on their faces.

"Mira! Elfman! Lisanna! Are you here?!" they called across the noisy room.

"Mama, who is Mira?" Vergil asked his mother.

"I don't know dear, why?"

"Those people seem to have lost her," the little Assassin pointed to the distraught couple, begging the conductor to let them out to find their missing children.

"I'm sorry, but mage or no mage, I cannot allow you to exit this carriage until the situation has been dealt with. All we can do now is hope for the best."

Vergil closed his codex and whispered something in his mother's ear.

"Vergil, honey, are you sure you can do this?" she asked him in reply.

"Sure!" he smiled at her, showing all his teeth in a cheeky grin.

"Okay," she let him go, slowly opening the window. "Make sure that you don't get caught!" she whispered.

"I won't, Mama," Vergil slowly climbed out of the window as the train pulled to a stop. He climbed out and over the window sill before finding handholds that would bring him up to the top of the train.

Once up there, he opened his ears and listened for the other children's voices. Slowly and very carefully (as per his mother's instructions) he walked from carriage to carriage as silently as he could, hearing bandits below rummaging for trinkets while a fight could be heard in the first carriage, near the engine.

"Help! Papa! Mama! Where are you?!"

_I think I'm getting nearer to them… but I can't find them at all!_

_Think, Vergil, think… Right!_

The little boy activated his Eagle Sense and saw a particular gold bandit walking out onto the sand dunes. Thinking about his next move, he reached into his pocket and took out his hunting knife, a solid blade with cord wrapped around the handle for extra grip and watched the target. As the bandit retreated back into the carriage, Vergil held the dagger in his favourite ice-pick grip and descended down onto the train landing and silently sneaked as best as he could.

"Mama! Papa! Where are you?!" Vergil heard that same girl's voice again, this time, more frantic.

He raced across the empty train car and reached the other side, sensing two bandits taking guard at the entrance of the next one as he could hear weapons clashing a little clearer than before, indicating that he was getting closer to the front.

Then, the train suddenly began moving again. Vergil peeked out the door to see the two bandits trying to regain their balance and took the opportunity to push the both of them off and under the train.

"Help!"

"SHUT UP!"

The little Assassin could feel them close. This time, he opened the door but did not go through, instead, using the ladder access to get to the roof and see through the sun roof down below.

_Found them._

Vergil saw three young children about his age being surrounded by the bandits. The eldest, a girl, had long flowing hair that she tied in a ponytail and was dressed rather rebelliously, showing midriff and wearing black stockings. The middle child, a boy, who wore a blue suit with a red bow tie and had a centre parting in his hair, was protecting his little sister who wore a simple dress and a bowl haircut.

The interesting thing about them was that they all had white hair, as white as snow, and he sensed a different vibe about them that he had never experienced before.

_Oh? Magic._

In a sudden, the eldest girl had taken the form of a lesser demon and began to engage the bandits in combat while the brother transformed into an armoured beast, the youngest sibling taking the form of an armadillo to defend themselves.

Vergil opened the sun roof and descended on one unlucky bandit with his hunting knife in his hand, scoring a kill through the scalp. Vergil quickly moved on to the next few bandits as silently as he could as the siblings attracted the main attention.

As the room cleared, the siblings saw the help that they had been getting in the form of Vergil, who sheathed his knife back in its scabbard before putting it back in his pocket.

"Who are you?!" the eldest girl, rounded on him in warning.

"I'm Vergil," the little boy replied with a bow.

"What are you doing here?" the siblings asked him cautiously.

"Your mama and papa were looking for you," he replied. "They tried to get out of the panic room to find you but the train conductor didn't allow them to go out."

"Then how did you get out?" the youngest curiously asked.

"By the window," Vergil replied, as if the answer was already obvious.

A short silence sat between them, before the brother sniffed his nose.

"What is that smell?"

The little group began sniffing in the air before Vergil realised that he forgotten one crucial rule of weaponry.

"Oh no! I forgot to clean my knife!" he wailed. "Father's not going to be happy when he sees this!" the young Assassin quickly drew his knife and wiped the blade on one of the incapacitated bandits and dripping the blood out of his wooden sheath. The smell of iron was still there and he knew that he was going to get scolded for not taking proper care of his weapon when the carriage door opened to reveal his father.

_Uh-oh._

"Vergil, what are you doing here?"

"I can explain!" Vergil pleaded. "I didn't mean to! I forgot about cleaning my knife! Honest!"

"I'll let it slide this time," his father spoke after a pregnant pause. He turned to the three children, "By any chance, do you happen to be studying Take-Over magic?"

"What about it?" the eldest asked indignantly.

"It seems the bandits were here for you. Thankfully, my son was here to help you out."

"Oh," she blushed in embarrassment, expecting a scolding.

The group walked back to the panic room together, with the eldest girl walking next to Vergil.

"I thought he was going to scold you for escaping the panic room! How come he scolds you over a dirty knife?" she asked him in a whisper.

"He doesn't want his knives to get rusty and the scabbards soiled," he replied nonchalantly.

"Anyway, thank you for coming to our rescue."

"No problem! Anyone would have done it," said Vergil.

"But only you turned up," she countered back sweetly. She sneaked him a little peck on the cheek as the panic room came into view and Vergil childishly wiped her kiss off his cheek in disgust, as most twelve year olds would do.


End file.
